Susan Sarandon: "'Sirat' left me speechless"

BarcelonaIn 2022, the Spanish Film Academy decided to add a new award to its annual ceremony: the International Goya Award, which recognizes "personalities who contribute to cinema as an art form that unites cultures and audiences worldwide." The idea was clearly inspired by France's honorary César Award, which for many years has added a touch of Hollywood glamour to the French film industry's biggest night. This year, at the Goya Awards ceremony held in Barcelona, ​​the recipient is... Susan Sarandon (New York, 1946), one of the great American actresses of her generation, winner of the Oscar for her role as a nun in the drama Death penalty, and acclaimed for memorable performances such as Thelma and Louise, Atlantic City, The craving either The Rocky Horror Picture Show

It should be noted that Sarandon is no stranger to Catalonia: she visited in 2017 to receive the Grand Prize of Honor at the Sitges Film Festival, and again in 2023 to present a screening of Thelma and Louise and receive the Sant Jordi Honorary Award. Therefore, she is fond of coming to Catalonia, as she acknowledged this Friday at a press conference prior to the Born Museum of Barcelona History. "I love Barcelona. The museums, the food, the actors... I'm very happy here," she said, despite ruling out moving to the city. "I have children and grandchildren, I can't leave them alone to come here," she explained. "But I would love to work in Spain. I told Pedro Almodóvar to find me a role as a stupid American woman who can't speak Spanish, but so far he hasn't found one. Perhaps another director?"

It has also become clear that for Sarandon, leaving the United States is very liberating, so much so that she even became emotional and was on the verge of tears when she tried to express what it means to her to see the support for the Gaza cause from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, or with the actor Javier Bardem: it makes her feel less alone, because these are things you never see on television in the United States. You don't know what it means for all of us who try to raise our voices in such a difficult place, where you clearly perceive the repression and censorship. Regarding Sánchez specifically, she said that she doesn't know him. "He's tall, he's handsome, and every time I've heard him speak, he's given me the impression that he's on the right side of history. I think he'll be at the gala tomorrow, and I'll be able to meet him." Sánchez, for his part, thanked the actress for her words: "It's very moving for me that someone whom all of Spain has admired for years has made such a wonderful comment about Spain. Thank you, Susan. There is always hope."

An actress on the blacklist

The actress had already made her political commitment clear during her previous visits to Catalonia. In Sitges, she didn't let the press conference end without someone asking her about Donald Trump – and He asked everyone for "forgiveness" for the US president—, in 2023 she stated that for her Politics was more important than interpretation: “I will be an activist longer than I am an actress,” she asserted. Shortly after that visit, Sarandon reinforced that statement by becoming one of the first Hollywood figures to speak out against the genocide in Gaza. She was also one of the first to suffer the consequences of getting involved, when The agency that represented her, UTA, expelled her as a client. after having participated in a demonstration in New York in defense of the Palestinian people.

“The moment my agency dropped me, I was blacklisted from television programs and it became impossible to work on any major Hollywood films,” Sarandon explained. “Eventually, I found agents in England and worked there, and also in Italy. But the Italian director who wanted to work with me was told…” The actress acknowledges that, by necessity, in recent years she has specialized “in small, independent films,” with debut directors. “And that’s why I’m making fewer films than before,” she concludes.

Nevertheless, Sarandon emphasizes more than ever the importance of taking a stand openly and breaking the silence that has settled over Hollywood regarding Donald Trump’s policies. “We should be able to speak out without fear, without the threat of never working again,” she said. “And that’s what’s happening right now.” Sarandon also has no illusions about the activism within the film industry. "Hollywood has never been political. If your movie makes money, they don't care about the rest. It's a myth that Hollywood is left-wing. Some movies are, but when times get darker, Hollywood doesn't exactly lean to the left. Remember the blacklists? Well, that's basically what's happening now."

Although politics was the main topic of the press conference, Sarandon also spoke about film. She is about to produce a movie, but has no intention of directing: "I don't want to be busy moving 35 trucks to take advantage of the sunset light." And she confessed that, despite not being up to date with Spanish cinema, she has seen one of the films nominated for a Goya Award.Sirado "It blew me away," she admitted. "Spoiler alert: when the car plunges down the mountain, I was like... Anything can happen now. Naively, I told my son to watch it, and then he angrily scolded me for it. 'I'll never be able to sleep again. Couldn't they have danced for two hours?' I thought it was an amazing film. And I think tomorrow they're going to seat me next to the director, who is apparently very tall. I still don't know what the film is about, but if it wanted to take me to an unknown world, it succeeded."