Bruna Cusí: "I feel cheated by the system"

BarcelonaIn 2017, theatre critic Marcos Ordóñez, after seeing #Lifespoiler At the Sala Flyhard, where Bruna Cusí and Vicky Luengo shared the bill, he predicted that the two actresses would go far. He wasn't wrong. Hurry: the German production Islands and the Catalans Balandrau, Border, Another man and Pizza moviesShe made a short film in France and traveled to Korea. But for her, it all began in 2017, when she premiered her first film in just one year. Uncertain glory and Summer 1993I had a significant theatrical career behind me, but now the stage has taken a backseat.

If I tell him Summer 1993What's going on in your head?

— Well, the beginning, the beginning of my career in film, basically. It was the door that allowed me to dedicate myself professionally to this. Yes, and then also a memory of a truly unforgettable summer.

Why was it your beginning?

— Because until then I had made short films and music videos. I had made a very independent film with my family, with my cousin, with a very small team, called Ardara. We went to Ireland. And from there I auditioned for Agustí Villaronga, who chose me for Uncertain glory. And then one of those things that sometimes always comes to you a bit in duplicate, came to me SummerAnd in just one year I shot these two films, and from then on it was a way to enter the cinema through the front door, because they were the two Catalan films of the year and very different from each other.

These are two films in which I played two rather complicated characters, in this sense, right? I mean, on the one hand, Trini fromUncertain glory, then the Marga ofSummer 1993It's a grand entrance, but one with many challenges.

— Yes, and very different acting challenges, because Agustí had a very passionate way of working, with characters, emotions, that were very raw, and everything had to be shown very much through the face. Filmmaking makes me, in this sense, consider myself very lucky. Because both experiences were wonderful and that also made me love cinema as much as I do now and, suddenly, I find myself on a shoot that isn't as... enjoyable I may think that there is a way of making films that is from love and passion.

But the bar was set very high in that sense.

— I started with the bar very high. In fact, this was a problem later on. Because the journey they had Summer 1993 and Uncertain glory And, above all, the experience I'd had isn't so common when you make independent films. And there aren't that many independent films... So I found myself being offered more commercial projects or more in Madrid, with which I didn't feel as connected, and I had a period where I wasn't enjoying it well; things just didn't fill my spirit. They were more nourishing, but that's not why I do this work. Until I relaxed and said: every opportunity is different.

Should passion for work sometimes be put aside?

— I never take it out, but I've learned to put things into perspective and understand very well that every project has its strengths and weaknesses. But above all, what I've learned, deep down, is to stop giving it so much importance. You have to create a good atmosphere and have fun because, in the end, life is very short, and this job is very hard, and so is this industry.

You had Agustí Villaronga as a teacher. What was he like?

— Very insecure. He was very insecure. It was a tender insecurity. As a teacher, he showed his vulnerability, and that wasn't very common at the time. Even more so now. I took the course with him at Laura Jou's studio, and we worked on scenes fromUncertain glory, two years before shooting the film. And he was very passionate about the story, about the project, and he was insecure, but he showed himself to be insecure without any fear. And at the same time, he was very rigorous and attentive to each student. He was a very good teacher in that sense. He tried to bring out the maximum potential and nature of each person without forcing anything. In fact, I remember it very well because, when I had to take the course with him, he was an eminence in my eyes. The day before, I couldn't sleep all night and I arrived to class without sleeping. He made us do a round of introductions. I sat down in the chair and said: My name is Bruna Cusí, I haven't slept because I'm very nervous. And he stayed like that and said: I haven't slept either because I was also very nervous. I think that vulnerability is precisely what made us connect. We were made of the same material.

He also had a very theatrical approach to filmmaking: he'd have actors rehearse, for example. Although he didn't do much theater himself.

— He had a very visual and choreographic vision of cinema, very theatrical in that sense. In fact, he would tell you what to do, he would create all the characters at home. In other words, he would lay out a certain path for you, physical actions. He sought emotion through physical actions, and this isn't very common among film directors. To help you convey emotion or anger or sorrow, he worked a lot with images, with the image of a physical action, so that it would take you to an emotional state. He was very interesting in that sense. I don't think I've ever worked with any director who works like that.

Now premiering Islands, which is an international production. You also recently filmed in Paris, and this spring you went to Korea.

— I want to work with people from outside, basically, because I'm a restless and curious person and I'm very interested in learning about other ways of filming and expanding knowledge, and none. Upon entry Now that's it... And above all, because I'm also very interested in learning new languages. I think they make me a smarter person. I really like it, and it's also an acting challenge. Acting in a language that's not your own gives you the opportunity to build new characters who express themselves differently. For me, the challenge is connecting emotionally with another language, one that isn't my native or paternal language. It's a step beyond acting.

There aren't many Catalan actors who have had a career...

— I'm a very well-traveled person. Having the opportunity to film in other parts of the world is like reconciling two great passions. In the case ofIslands, the director is Jan-Ole Gerster and it's a German film but shot in English. I was able to work with Sam Riley. In the series The Alienist It happened to me too. You work with Hollywood actors, and you have them in a certain position, wow, these people are on another level, and sometimes you realize that you too can be at that level, that in the end it's a matter of the industry.

But this also has a personal impact on family life...

— Every shoot has a personal impact, where you have to choose between your life in Barcelona and your routine, and suddenly go away for two months. When you come back, you wonder: Where are my friends? Does my family remember me? It's difficult to balance it all. You have to find people who understand this lifestyle, and who also know how to support you, who you can support. You have to find a balance. But, in the end, with BalandrauI've been to the Pyrenees, and then I went to Korea, but yes, there's always this back-and-forth, which I really like. On filming, you make so much family and so many friends, because your social environment is really that at that moment.

She is an actress who, I think, has made many bets, who has made many films with debuting directors, such as Carla Simón deSummer 1993. Is it something you like?

— I think it's organic. I mean, I think it's happened to me my whole life. Almost every film I've made is a first or second.

This year will premiere Another man, David Moragas' debut, for example.

— It's my second, but it's the first with a bigger budget. For me, it's a learning experience. I also often repeat myself, like with Burning Percebes, with which we've done several. There's a parallel growth. To me, this, on the contrary, seems natural, and obviously I do wish I could work with more established directors, with more experience, from whom you can learn, but it's what I've found. I haven't chosen it too often either.

First-time directors go to her and she'll probably say...

— That's it too. I suppose it's understood that I accept certain risks, which perhaps other actors or actresses aren't willing to take. But I also think I can discover new things as an actress, and for me, risk is extremely important in art.

So you've finished a script now, right? Where does your passion for writing come from?

— I don't know. I think it comes from the fact that I studied at the Theater Institute, where I studied creation and gesture, and I even got into puppetry. It's something I carry with me like a backpack, this desire to develop a more creative side. Sometimes, on film, you can create as an actress, but ultimately you're at the service of someone else's story.

The work of an actress requires imagination...

— And I need to channel that imagination. And since I need to channel it, I started writing. I'm eager to generate projects. Because I need to tell certain stories that I haven't seen on screen yet. And then I say to myself: since I haven't seen them, I'll do them myself.

What is the series about?

— Right now, the series is about the scam women of my generation face in postponing motherhood. And it's about the desire to be a mother and the deconstruction of that desire. Because I'm truly from a generation that grew up with the idea that it was good for us to develop our professional careers and our independence—that we have time to be calm. But then, when we achieve this, fertility plummets after age 35, and so the solutions they give you are freezing your eggs or undergoing in vitro fertilization, which is still a scam. Because, ultimately, it all happens because women are once again paying elitist prices, subjecting our bodies and our health to aggressive treatments that, in my opinion, after reading a lot, aren't the best solutions I would offer to this problem.

Do you feel personally scammed?

— The series is based on a personal experience and more than scammed by a vitrification clinic, I feel cheated by the system, like many other things. If someone had told me that there was a deadline andIn this, perhaps I would have approached things differently. But in the end, there's an acceptance that I'm a victim of the late capitalism in which we live. alter ego Mine. I'll play with autofiction: a woman desperate to find a mature man eager to be a father, and there aren't many, ends up deciding to freeze her eggs. So, the series is her entire journey, but with a sense of humor, comedy, science fiction...

— It's interesting that many actors and actresses of your generation who come from theater are developing their own projects, but not in theater, but in audiovisuals. Is it easier to get an audiovisual project off the ground?

— I think so. In any case, it's easier to get paid for it. It can cost a lot, so I let it be. The next projects I'm developing are all audiovisual, because I have the feeling that it takes longer to materialize, but there are people who know how to appreciate risk and opportunity.

In fact, there are two doors.

— I always think about it. I say: maybe I'll start doing audiovisual work, but I'd like to be able to bring it to the theater later. We'll see. The problem is I don't have enough time. I'd like to do so many things...

And now the theater has taken a backseat?

— No, but they don't yell at me.

Last season he did The day of the Watusi, in the Lliure.

— I made the Watusi, which was the last one... Let's see, there's a problem: balancing theater and audiovisual work is complicated because in theater, you usually have to commit six months or a year in advance, and filming comes much sooner. They can give you a month's notice for a shoot. So, balancing audiovisual work with theater is complicated. And the times it's done, you take risks because, suddenly, you're about to do a play and they call you for a film, and you can't choose because you've already committed to something. And, simply put, this year I'm linking a lot of audiovisual projects. More are coming my way... Yes, I would like to return to the theater. But I think I'd have a better time in a small venue. I'd like to be able to do a play in a Flyhard.

I would go back to #Lifespoiler?

— Yes, I would very much like to do a # againLifespoiler, that the ritual of the experience is very close to the audience. Because in large venues I always feel a bit... distant, especially in text-based theater. There's a kind of artifice that I don't feel entirely comfortable with.

At that time, before Covid, he worked with Claudio Tolcachir, with Gabriel Calderón, an Argentinian, and a Uruguayan...

— The best.

You've now gone to Korea, but you already had theater experience working with South American directors. What do you remember?

— Incredible. Very different, aren't they? Gabriel is intensity! It's also true that I did a piece called Let the actors be blown up And we were bursting at the seams. They both have a very fine way of directing actors. Especially Claudio, who constantly seeks truth, naturalness. The other one, and we'll put them together? They don't give you that rhythm. I would have a great time, a great time.

With Tolcachir he did The omission of the Coleman familyDo you know any family like that?

— Mine! A little different, but it could be quite Coleman. Yes, yes.

She said before that she would be called to do theater, and now I believe it...

— From the Watusi, No. No, I haven't received any proposals, but it's also true that I haven't... I don't want to complain about this either, because, in any case, maybe if they don't call me it's because they think I'm not interested in it. Because I'm filming so much and I've been missing for so many months... I try to go to the theater, but lately I've been going less than I'd like. So, in the end, this is a question of making contact, of reaching out to talk to people at the moment. I think if I focused more on working in the theater, things would come up. I mean: it's not a complaint that they don't call me, it's more that maybe I'm not focusing on going to the theater right now because... I'm a little overwhelmed with filming.

And where does the Korean project come from?

— This is so crazy because everything comes fromUpon entry, which was presented at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, and a director saw the film, a director from New York, and said, "I want to work with this girl." So she contacted a distributor, and they contacted me through the producer, so...

Is this really happening?

— Come on! It's a really tough thing to say: wow, you never know, what it's like, a small movie shot on a shoestring in Barcelona... and suddenly you take this trip. Upon entry He's given me a lot of work. It's also true that I did a good job.