Spain Culture News
Ben Kingsley awarded at European Film Festival in Sevilla
By h.b. - Nov 9, 2009 - 7:41 AM
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Ben Kingsley in Sevilla - EFE
The British actor also presented his new film 'Fifty Dead Men Walking'
British actor Ben Kingsley has been presented with the Giraldillo de Oro, a golden replica of the Sevilla tower in recognition of his career.
Kingsley is in the city for this week’s European Film Festival, and to present his latest film ’Fifty Dead Men Walking’.
Presented with an Oscar in 1982 for his role as Matahtma Gandhi, Kingsley said the main message of his new film is the ‘co-existence of two men who show their masculine vulnerability in the very specific context of terrorism, when they have to make decisions’.
Kingsley told his audience that it has taken him a long time to be happy, and it was wrong to think that to be creative you have to be otherwise. ‘Now I am happier, much more creative and less neurotic’, he said.
Asked about the relevance of Gandhi today he said that pacifism was needed, but does not always work.
The Director of the European Film Festival in Sevilla, Javier Martín, said it was tremendously exciting to welcome ‘one of the best actors in the world’.
Kingsley did not want to end his press conference without making reference to Spanish cinema, mentioning Carlos Saura and Pedro Almodóvar. He said it would be interesting to take part in a Spanish-British co-production in the future.