"Memory alone is what allows us to create a better world."

The 45th ElEjido Theater Festival has come to an end. Tonight, at 9:30, the final theater play will be performed at the ElEjido Auditorium. The play 'Un hombre de paso,' directed by Manuel Martin Cuenta of Ejido and starring Antonio de la Torre, will have a special flavour. This work deals with the very dark period of world history, such as that of the Jewish holocaust.

This story takes place at the Roma Hotel bar in Turin. A journalist waits for two people to arrive to interview her about a very important story. They are the first to appear from the shadows. Primo Levi is a world-famous writer, chemist, and survivor from Auschwitz.

Levi will serve as a witness to the interview Anna, the journalist, will hold with Maurice Rossell. Rossell is a Swiss national who was a member of the International Red Cross during World War II. He visited Nazi concentration camps to write a report. It was controversial, to be sure.

"A passing man" addresses a difficult period in world history. It will also affect viewers emotionally.

I hope so. Theater, cinema, and artistic expression are all for this purpose. To stir consciences and make people think. It is theater and cinema that interest me most. Man, I can suddenly enjoy 'Star Wars' if I have popcorn and fun. I also like musicals that make me laugh. But as a viewer, I prefer works that leave me feeling different than I entered.

I don't know if this is one of his most difficult roles, due to the emotional weight of the story.

Yes, but also because of the uniqueities of theater. Acting for the camera is different from acting for someone in the last row. I am always trying to preserve truth, naturalness, or a sincere manner of telling the story, which I believe. Every function I learn is new. That's the beauty of it all.

Rossell claims he hasn’t seen anything.

It is true. He didn't see any. I was able to see some material. Maurice Rossell has never been interviewed. In the 1980s, Claude Lanzmann conducted an interview with him. He asked the same questions as Anna Morales (an actress playing the role of Anna) tonight. The interview was not published until 1997. This is the date that Maurice Rossell died. We suspect that Rossell didn't want Anna to publish the interview until after his death. This is just guesswork.

"Was Rossell actually a doctor?"

-Yes. According to what we know, there was not much information. However, it appears that he was loved by his family in Switzerland. He was a family physician, an outstanding man, and there were some who praised his good nature. Yet, when faced with the greatest collective murder in history, he saw no one. Funny because he was also an aspiring doctor who was supposed to save lives. He refers to his youth and says he was innocent. However, he didn’t realize that he was actually seeing it as an adventure. He was just a passing man. He was a passing man.

- Should it be a work for reflection?

-Yes absolutely. It is important to remember that these characters existed in documentary theater. Ana, the journalist, may be fictional. However, she has the exact same questions as Claude Lanzmann who was the filmmaker who told the story of the holocaust through a documentary called 'Shoah'.

There is fiction, however.

Yes, Primo Levi and Rossell never met. It is something we also fictionalized in the show. However, everything the real characters said was true in reality. Ana believes that we give her a woman’s soul. However, she asks the exact same questions as Claude Lanzmann when he first met Rossell 40-years after the war. She also asks Rossell what he saw.

-The work forces us to think about whether we see the truth or what we want. Is it a common thing in society to have something before you, but not want it?

-When we think about the holocaust we tend to believe that Hitler was a monster. But the truth is that Hitler was a human being. Having done all the research and watching the show, I have come to the conclusion that the holocaust could have been made possible by many people, like you and I, who looked the other direction.

"Just for looking the opposite way"

Hannah Arendt, on the other hand, maintains the thesis that Eichmann was guilty of one of the greatest Nazi genocides in Jerusalem. He did this to the indignation and dismay of his people. It is not that it was bad. It is just that he was a bureaucrat who did as he was told. Some of this explains the atrocities committed. Certain atrocities are only possible with psychopathy and inability to see the other side.

"We can't say that we are looking the other direction." We don't want to be seen or involved.

-That's it. Sentimental education to me is the greatest deficit in society.

What message does it want to send?

-That we must learn from our mistakes in the past. Only memory can help us build a better world. If you're able to allow me, I would like to dig up the dead and discuss what happened in order that it doesn’t happen again.

- You're also a journalist. What do you think about today's journalism? Are you a victim of this look-the-other way society?

It was the same as before. I was more Rossell-like, an innocent, and didn't see it. Banks, risk funds... own communication groups. There are obviously interests that stop certain information from being released. Luis Jimenez has written a book called El Director, which explains everything about journalism. However, the digital age allows for a certain democraticization of media. A few media have been published, to which I am subscribed. These media are funded with the contributions of their partners. I believe that they practice journalism with a certain freedom. It is impossible to be objective, but they try and think about the reader and make journalism a part of a better world.

He has worked with Martin Cuenca a lot and is very familiar with him. It is possible to work with him.

He is a great director of actor, and for me, one of the best directors in Spain. He is meticulous. He understands the craft in a way that I do not. An actor does not have to look like one. But, it must be like life, and reflect life. Talking about him is like talking about a loved one.

What prompted you to join the boards a decade after your first board appointment?

This is the project we've been working on for many years. We attempted to make a version called 'Un Enemigo del Pueblo,' but that didn't work out with the production company. Now, during the pandemic Manuel talked with Felipe Vega about the interview and that drama was what led to the creation of the function.

Why did you choose this particular work? It is also interesting... A work on the holocaust was chosen in the middle of a pandemic, and with war in Europe.

Manolo could answer this better, as he chose the topic. Although we both love theater, he is the one responsible for determining the purpose and directing it. As an actor, I have contributed. He was still excited, even though he had to deal with a pandemic in order to prepare for the work. Zoom was actually the medium through which we met our first time. It was a bit optimistic to think there would be a post-pandemic, and that theaters could be restored. The holocaust happened because in the end, destruction and objectification are something that is cyclical in human history. We have the Ukraine War right now.

What has the impact of this theater return?

-We had some mishaps at the premiere. The first week of rehearsals was a bit rough for me, and we had to telerehearse. Teleworking is not enough, it's also telerehearsal. We were, on the other hand, extremely satisfied because we premiered at the Lope De Vega in Seville with just five days to go. The sign that there are no tickets was also up. After three weeks, we returned to Matadero and put up the sign that no tickets were available. Every function brings you something new and makes you happier. I can assure you that I will make it happen today in El Ejido.

-It's true that the covid brought new concepts such as the tele essay.

In fact, during this tour, I shot a film of Chile. Two days prior to shooting, we met with all the actors to conduct a Zoom script reading. This was impossible before. Like many other things, some of this will likely stay.

Is the return to the table causing the worm to want to do more theatre?

It can be a challenging exercise. Everything is pre-planned so you can only focus on what is important. People are respectful in a theater but there are still people living, so you have to be mindful of what is happening around you. It is worth learning about it. Although I have not lost my theater bug, it has been a ten year journey. I have also had two children in the past ten years. It is hard to combine them because of the tours and long seasons that are required for each child. Although intense, the shootings last for a minimum of a month. It's easier to reconcile theater and movies.

They have been in Malaga, their country, and now they are coming to El Ejido to the land Manuel Martin Cuenca.

Yes, El Ejido is also my name. It was 20 years ago that I shot Poniente and have many fond memories. That was the moment I met Nicolas Liduena, who took me to the greenhouses and showed me how intensive farming works. The actor is like a journalist except that the actor tells the story in the third person while the actor does it in the first. But in the end, we are the bearers of the story.

What projects will this 2022 bring you?

-A film I shot in Brussels during the pandemic, called "Between Life and Death", will be released on July 15. I also believe that at the end November, "Stories to Not Tell" will be released. This film is by Cesc Gay, in which I have a piece paper and just returned from Chile.