Screentime: Geisel Cabrera (Operations Manager, EU Film Festival)
"Screentime" is a regular magazine column in which we ask Beijing personalities to tell us about the films and television shows that have left an indelible impression on them. This month, the Beijinger speaks to Geisel Cabrera the Operations Manager of the EU Film Festival and also film and music curator at Meridian Space about some of his adventures in cinema.
What TV show or movie did you once love but now think is rubbish?
When I was a child I spoke as a child and behaved as such, and liked… Alf. Now I can’t stand the super-furry alien, he seems like a really weird medieval misrepresentation of a Yiddish man (I feel it is a bizarre anti-Semitic show). Did I mention he eats cats? It’s just unacceptable.
Is there a movie soundtrack or score that you use to get yourself into a certain mood?
Gregg Araki’s and Xavier Dolan’s music selections are always spot on for me. There are many times I respond to these music scores just because I’ve already listened to their selection and somehow I have a mood attached to the melody. Sometimes a film’s score brings to the table a fairly new musical concept and then I use it as a reference to get something I’m interested in.
What is the slowest paced movie you still enjoyed?
There are lots of slow-paced films I’ve enjoyed, in fact, too many to list here. I love Ming-liang Tsai’s films, Tarkovsky, some of Jia Zhangke’s films, the list goes on. Generally speaking, Asian cinema’s pace tends to be slower for the over-stimulated Western eye. I don’t crave speed when it comes to a story as long as it amazes me by other means.
What was the first movie that you saw with a date?
Actually, I watched a film with a date for the first time pretty late in life – I won’t disclose the age, but it was a very interesting selection called The Color of Pomegranates by Sergei Paradjanov. I was pretty excited about it and he was not (bummer). The date has been utterly forgotten, but the film stays in my head and no one can take those images away.
What’s the best TV show theme song? Why?
That would have to go to The Adventures of Pete and Pete. It took me a long time to get a hold of the actual name of the band, which happens to be Polaris and the song’s name is “Hey Sandy.” I was really into indie music (low fidelity, cacophony, dreamy/ethereal voices, and distortion) back in those days and it really stuck in my mind for a long time. I just haven’t felt as excited about any TV show’s theme ever since.
Look out for the European Union Film Festival coming to Beijing in November.
photo: Linda Witters