HECTOR MALOT : THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR was in competition in 2018 at La Semaine de la Critique. What did this mean for you to be selected in our Section?
The selection meant the world to me. The film was made with a lot of heart and good will, under hard circumstances, so when I got the good news it was like a dream coming true, a rather surreal one. Although I am young in the industry, one of the things I had been listening to is that the best short selection in the world is La Semaine’s , so it was such an honor!
HECTOR MALOT : THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR won the Leica Cine Discovery Award. How did this prize help you going on in your career?
It is my most important achievement up until now. There was a lot of visibility for me as an artist, and through this I met a lot of new and different people and got invited to interesting events. In the same way there was a lot of visibility and interest in my feature projects, both 1st and 2nd, which is always positive and promising. People believed in me more. However, I am in Greece and the congratulations and good words have not been translated yet into actual help (i.e funds) for my next project. So I am still waiting.
If you had a message for the new directors that will be selected this year with their first film, living their first time with us, what should it be?
What matters is the journey, not the destination, so forget about the award (until the actual ceremony), and until then indulge in each and every little thing, live the whole experience!