Curro Velázquez, director and screenwriter specialized in comedy, presents his new film in Dénia Debris Body, in which some Dianense inhabitants participate as extras. The film tells the story of Javi (played by Dani Rovira), a man who, faced with the problems he encounters in getting a job, pretends to have cerebral palsy to get a position in a company. The situation becomes complicated when he falls in love with his boss.
The filmmaker, known for his works in The Benetón family, God come down and see it o Brain drain, has chatted with Dénia.com about his new production (which opens in theaters on August 9), what it is like to work in comedy films and the relevance that Dénia has in his life, since the Alicante city has been the place where he has written part of his scripts.
ASK. How did you come up with the idea of creating Debris Body?
ANSWER. I have been working on things related to people with disabilities for some time now, including El Langui, with which I have a very long professional and personal relationship. Then I thought: "Why can't this be a comedy?" The Langui is the first to laugh at it and it is a way of normalizing and a way of asking why people with disabilities cannot star in comedy. It was good that they appeared in dramas, but that leap needed to be made. That's where it started Brain drain, of which we made the second part and they gave us awards valuing precisely that.
I continue working with Langui in Pepe's Chiringuito, a God come down and see it. Then we made a program for Spanish Television called Where two eat, there were two seasons with El Langui and Pablo Pineda and they gave us an award at Cannes worldwide, three nominations for the Television Academy and in that production what was later forged was forged. Debris Body.
With the stories that I learned doing that program, my reflection was that Until you are in the shoes of someone with a disability or with some difficulty (in this case physical), you are not aware of how difficult it is for them.. The issue is that you don't know what its limitations are and, since you don't know, you don't take them into account.
Then, the main character, encouraged by his brother (played by Ernesto Sevilla), suddenly has to pretend to be a person with a disability to get a job. It is his brother who begins to give him the speech about "people with disabilities are fashionable, take advantage of such a quota..." and pushes him into that mess. But it is a comedy for all audiences, white, and in that mess there is also room for a romantic comedy, in fact, with his boss, and love arises.
Therefore, there is a big lie involved and within that path, there are people with disabilities. The film is a classic sitcom in the best of senses, it is closer to Eight Basque Surnames that of Champions.
Q. Do you think that given the work situation, the situation in the film could happen in real life?
R. It is a lie to find a job, there is also some criticism in that sense and I would not be surprised. I know that there has been a case with a Paralympic basketball team that suddenly none of them had disabilities, for example. I don't know, maybe the movie gives ideas and there are already people hiding it... I hope not (jokes).
Q. How do the actors react when you tell them the plot of the film?
R. I have been very lucky because I wrote the script thinking about Dani Rovira and Ernesto Sevilla, with whom I had not worked before and a custom suit was made. When I told them what the story was about, they liked it; first it's like well... well there is a source of comedy, that is, Dani would have to pretend to be a person with cerebral palsy when he is not... But when they read the script they realized that there was much more and that the film was full of nuances and a very beautiful love story, which also has its weight in the plot.
The truth is that I am super grateful to Dani and Ernesto because they have been brave for getting into this mess with me and I think we have managed to make a fun and beautiful movie.
Q. People with functional diversity have been included for this film, has the set been adapted to film with these people?
R. You are right, all characters with disabilities are people with real disabilities. The film was shot in Bilbao and Naiara has done a fabulous job with the casting finding these people. The set was obviously adapted to the needs of each one.
Q. What was the atmosphere on filming?
R. Very good. Look, in the film there is a sequence in a bar called La Rampa, which plays with the idea that the owner has cerebral palsy and everything is adapted for all disabilities; It is a way of forcing and transgressing, precisely to denounce the opposite, that I wish this were more adapted to real life... And well, there would be 100 people, each one with their disability and each one of their father and son. mother, and it was very fun to have them.
We have done a screening with them and something happens that I love: suddenly they see the movie - I had not thought about it that way when I wrote it or when I directed it - and it turns out that it empowers them. And in La Rampa, which is a place that at first could be hard, dark... accessibility becomes just the opposite, something bright, everyone wants to go have fun and dance.
Q. How do you know if a movie is going to make audiences laugh when you're creating it? Do you tell jokes to your trusted people to see how they react?
R. The closest thing to trying something without ever being sure of anything is those almost 25 years doing comedy; Television is a school and brutal learning just like cinema.
But also Society advances and you never know where the key is going to be.. You try to build something that you think can work. Then you get many surprises: what you thought was super fun is not so much and the thing that was a stupid thing that was put on at the last minute and that you didn't give any importance to becomes the phrase that everyone repeats.
It is also true that I write the script, but then there is an actor, there is a montage, the music, the day you shoot it... so many things influence it... I always give the example of the rice stitch. When a cook was asked what is the most difficult thing in a kitchen, he says it is the point of the rice. Well, the same thing happens with comedy, it's either there or it's not: the joke has to be in the script, an actor or actress has to come to do it, improve it, give it shape... then, I have to shoot it. plane, editing it, the pause... it's super unstable, that is, a look like that or a gesture makes you have a joke or not. That's why many times, when you improvise, it works, because of that naturalness.
Making people laugh is difficult and tiring, although I love it and want to continue doing comedy.. But it is true that it should be valued more than what is valued and the actors also have a level of exposure. Imagine that no one laughs for an hour and a half... well it's complicated.
Q. Before becoming a director you were a screenwriter, when and why did you decide to take the step and direct?
R. I always wanted to direct, tell stories and write them. It is true that I found a path, not an easier one, but the first steps I took as a screenwriter worked and I made a living with it. When I could I started directing.
Q. Which role do you like more, director or screenwriter? What pros and cons does each role have?
R. Writing seems very hard to me; If you are a perfectionist and demanding - as is my case - it is hard, because it is a path that is sometimes lonely or sometimes in the company of other scriptwriters, but of course, it is a bit of a roller coaster: it grows great, then not so much... and there is also a level of exposure with producers, with television networks…
Then you're going to sell, you have to get financing, so it's difficult because you have to defend things that you haven't shot yet. And someone says "no, this doesn't work", another says "well I think it does."
And directing... everything is already done: there is a script, there are the actors, there is a budget to direct the film and, although it is hard work anyway and anything you try to do well takes work, you are already part of something, not from the sheet in white. I really enjoy that part because you are putting a face to what was written.
So they are two very different things, although they are part of telling that story, but writing seems hard to me. I wish I received comedy scripts that I loved, that were perfect to shoot and start directing, it would take away a lot of my worries.
Q. What is your type of audience? Who do you direct your films to?
R. Now there's this "family comedy" thing. I have done the script for The Benetón family this year - which today is the highest-grossing Spanish film of 2024 - and is in this family comedy audience.
Then there is "for all audiences", but it is not a family comedy. I think we should invent a term for that. Debris Body it's an example. Is it a family comedy? No. Is it for all audiences? Yes. Well that's where I am. I come from TV and making films that fortunately have reached the public. I like the rooms to be filled, for people to laugh, to repeat phrases...
Q. Since when have you had a house in Dénia?
R. It's been about 8 years and almost all of my latest projects have happened here. I don't just come on vacation, I'm even here seasonally. Debris Body It is mostly made in Dénia, and 80% of The Benetón Family It is written here.
It is a place that I love and its gastronomy is fantastic. Then I'm lucky to have friends here, so everything is round.
Q. Do you have a favorite spot in the town?
R. Taska Eulalia. I love her salad and I have worked a lot there at the high table, which is in the middle of the restaurant; They are also great friends. And then the old part, the port... it's actually all very beautiful.
Q. Several inhabitants of Dénia have appeared as extras, how did this come about? Did you already know them?
R. Fortunately we have been lucky enough to make good friends and yes, there is a collaboration as extras from the Vives brothers, the twins and Juan Antonio Vives and they have done a phenomenal job. I think it's the beginning of something.
Q. Do you think the trailer may give the wrong impression to the public?
R. Well, it is true that the trailer has worked very well. The distributor, which is Disney, told us just last week that it has had a lot of impact and that is good. Obviously in a trailer you can't tell everything and the focus here is on comedy and the approach given to this topic is "let's laugh." And somehow the negative characters that are within the film teach what should not be.
So, if you only see the trailer... The film is much more and I think it is perfectly clear what the message is and what we want to achieve.
Q. Do you think anyone might be offended by the film?
R. If someone is not offended by something, it would mean that the world would have disappeared, there would be no one on the planet. It's good that there is debate. Feeling offended, well, it's almost impossible for someone not to feel offended; Even Mother Teresa of Calcutta has enemies.
And it is good that that happens and, if it generates debate, even better, because that is the idea. I am not in possession of the absolute truth, that is, this is an approach and a look, as we sit and talk.
What I am a little against is this thing that sometimes arises from censors, people who stand in a place and say "this yes, this no." and they defend it as hooligans. Those types of opinions... I respect them, but I don't enter because it is not a debate.
Fortunately, I believe that the public wants to laugh, have a good time and not complicate their lives. So I think we are living in a good time, despite the "offends" - as they say - to do comedy. I don't buy their speech.
Q. In this society, where politically correct rules, is there fear of making films like Debris Body?
R. All of that motivates me. I think it's good and that comedy should always transgress. In fact, if you analyze the movies or series that have worked, such as Eight Basque Surnames, look where it comes from... or Champions. And not only in Spain, Better Impossible (American film), for example, where there is a protagonist with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
So if you don't get there, I think you're not on the right track. Fear is free, perhaps it is not so much of the directors or scriptwriters, but of the networks or whoever finances the stories. If it affected that, it would be worrying and I don't buy that speech, because in the end it is freedom of expression and the public must decide if they like it or if they don't like it, much less by watching a trailer...
Q. Are there limits to humor?
R. No, I believe in the Penal Code if there is a crime (insulting or an offense). I did law and I don't remember it anymore but obviously that's the limit. The thing is that even with the things that don't make me funny, I defend freedom of expression. So the limit is in the Penal Code and nothing else and the other thing is the sensitivity that each person has to count or not count.
Whatever you say, there will always be 20% of people who will be against it, I don't remember who. Fortunately, I think we are evolving in many things and, from cinema or fiction, we can see if Debris Body It brings something and makes someone suddenly empathize and realize certain things.
Q. When you decided to dedicate yourself to film, did you know that you wanted to do comedy?
R. Yes, because it is part of your life, you put on those glasses and it is part of you, it is a vision of life. I have done other things that are not comedy, but few.
Q. What does it feel like when your own film is released?
R. It is the work of years and being able to share it with everyone is very beautiful and exciting. It is also a responsibility and, although I am calm, inside there is something there that imposes itself on you and you say "well, let's see what you think of this."
Q. The film opens in theaters on August 9, do you think summer works better for releasing comedies?
R. It seems to me that summer is a very good time to release a comedy, we are on vacation. In August, maybe there are people who have been on vacation for a while and say "let's go to the movies"... children and young people are also on vacation... Any time is good for comedy, but it's true that there have already been other comedies. that work in summer. There are dates that are good... summer, Christmas, Easter… Also some dates depend on the competition, but it seems like a fantastic date to me and I think we will do well.
Q. Now that we are in the era of digital platforms, do you plan to release a production with any of them entirely or are you one of those faithful to the cinema premiere?
R. I can't control evolution. As a spectator, I love the movie theater, it seems to me that there is nothing like that. But in my house I consume television, a good TV, good sound... In the end it is generating content and, if it arrives through the platform or through the movie theater, then I will be there.
So I'm not against it, on the contrary, I can't be against something that generates work and films, series... The market is like this, I don't control it and we have to join in with what we have to do.
Q. Do you see yourself making serious films?
R. In the future I would like to do things that are not comedy, but at the moment I have comedy left in me, I am in no hurry.
