Yes, he sees life like a comic. For in this he finds the kindness of the people who raised him as a child, the eighth of nine siblings. Fesser returns with Campeonex, added the “x” because this time it’s about video games and mental and physical disabilities. The cinema release is on August 18th. An inclusive and positive being Javier Fesser (Madrid, 1964)and it’s fun to romp.
Do you see life as a comic?
The truth is: yes, because I learned to tell stories with comics. What interests me most is the truth that cartoons have.
It is true that he has once again made an animated film, and with a lot of morals: “The usual human abilities are to get angry, always want to win and to mistrust.” Is that the message?
It’s not moral, it’s true: we see it every day in sports competitions.
He is freed by one of his glorious characters in the second minute of the tape. Are your actors happy?
Very happy. Joy is one of the common characteristics of people with this supposed intellectual disability. They take every opportunity to celebrate.
Are you absolutely sure about that?
Yes, when you work with them, you laugh all day long. They are people who accept themselves very maturely. They are so used to switching between different things that they are constantly teaching us how to accept others for who they are. You don’t understand the term “different”.
And that’s why they don’t classify or label, isn’t that always more important? Haven’t you noticed that people are becoming more and more suspicious of what is different?
Very important, they don’t deal with prejudices, they don’t stretch their bellies for the photo, they feel comfortable, they are happy. The summary did Gloria Ramos (Collantes in the film): In an interview, they asked him how he felt when he met Brianeitor (The film’s soul, a video game creator suffering from muscle wasting, barely moving his head, confined to a chair and ventilator for life, and shocked by his image). And Gloria replied: “I was very impressed because no one had warned me that he was from Almería and that I was spending the summer in Almería! (Lots of well deserved laughs hahahaha)”. And all said with absolute truth and sincerity: it is like the synthesis of what this film tells.
Everything we are and the places we visit are closely related to the early years of our lives.
Fesser argues that “intellectual abilities are overrated”. Should we listen more to our heart and emotions to be a little bit happier?
I contend that we encode our peace of mind in the grades our kids get in math, without even asking if they’re happy on the playground. Is my son growing, learning to be a better person, can he count on others? Intellectual disability comes with tremendous emotional capacity: you realize far earlier than anyone else when you’re having a bad day and need a hug. “Disability” for what? We all have disabilities.
The most intelligent beings are usually not the most prepared emotionally. Why should that be so?
When you have a limitation, you need to work a lot more on another of your abilities, and when that limitation is intellectual in nature, you need to balance your emotions to take care of others. But with this understanding from the heart, preconceived notions or prejudices don’t intervene: they don’t matter.
Javier, why repeat? master Has contributed a lot to the integration of disabled people in the cinema, what else can you do? championex?
Because I wanted to introduce functional disability. And immerse yourself in the reality of these people, in their world: family, employment centers, romantic relationships. The public interest aroused by the first issue gave us the opportunity to delve deeper into the matter.
What happened in your life between the ages of zero and 15 that touched you so much?
Everything, everything that comes after. I would even say between zero and 8 years. It is evident that everything we are and the places we reach are closely linked to the early years of our lives, during which our personality, fears, interests, abilities and disabilities are formed. and i feel it clearly and for that reason i am so thankful for the love my parents and siblings gave me, for being born into such a big and beautiful family.
The two In particular (not to mention all your films) you’re totally childish: is that your way of looking at life?
I love that you see it that way. This childhood look, so similar to that of very old people, which is also present in the film, is a look full of curiosity and disinterest, and it is not conditioned by what one has experienced or by one’s expectations. When the soul is new, everything flows cleanly and transparently.
Aren’t your children (three, the eldest, Claudia Fesser, the villain in this film; the other two making cameo appearances) ashamed of some of the things their father does?
The truth is: no. I did a series for the internet with my youngest son Javi when he was a year old: JaviluzThey were one-minute chapters based on the Warner cartoons. You can’t imagine how much fun we had.
Javier, how important was religion in your education?
I was raised Catholic both at home and at school. And I was very devoted: official acolyte of the parish of my neighborhood (Salamanca/Retiro). And at the age of 13, the thought of becoming a priest often crossed my mind. At 14, I made a change: I no longer needed the idea of someone higher watching over me, namely God, and began to work on a tremendous faith in people and in the love between people.
That is, did he move from Catholic monotheism to humanism?
Well, like that, it’s too big for me, but I still have a lot of all this education, it’s very difficult to get rid of. I was fortunate to be raised by my parents in the light of faith, love rather than the guilt and darkness that I represented camino.
Noticing this confidence, their disabilities disappeared.
He owes his humor to his father and his mother’s kindness, but…
My mother is still there, she will be 101 years old and she is the most modern of the whole family: her head is the best equipped and her memory is huge.
But have you never had an enemy?
Not that I know of. I never worked to get it. And I don’t feel like anyone’s enemy.
As the eighth of nine siblings, are you brilliant or are you eaten up?
No. The thing is: either you were fast or you didn’t eat; You either went to the toilet quickly or you had to queue. But I am very grateful for that: having such a large family with limited resources has given us all a lot of flexibility to adapt to changes. In exchange for never going to the beach or eating out in a restaurant in the summer, this has made us very open. And another very interesting aspect is the different perception and memory that each of us has of the same reality.
What did you do when the others were playing football?
It was so bad that nobody wanted me on their team, so I started playing basketball, and then I had a really good gym teacher who introduced me to track and field. He was my coach and I became Spanish 50m hurdles champion and junior long jump champion.
Wow, is that why the champions switched to athletics in this second episode?
Well, I hadn’t even thought about it, but yeah, of course, how come it’s not there. I made this film with my coach’s philosophy: when someone trusts you, what you can give is incredible. Noticing this confidence, their disabilities disappeared. Everything that happens in the film, even the most absurd thing, stopping a police car like a taxi and asking them to take you, springs from reality: I didn’t invent anything.
