Elena Cid's documentary 'Ullate, la danza de una vida' touches its protagonist and the audience, who receive it with eight minutes of applause
The director, the dancer and choreographer Víctor Ullate and the producers Sonia Martín and Germán Berkovitz present this biographical film in the official Out of Competition Documentaries section
On Sunday, the 3rd of March, the documentary about the life and work of Víctor Ullate, one of the main figures in Spanish dance, was presented at the Festival de Málaga. The director Elena Cid, the producers Sonia Martín and Germán Berkovitz and the dancer's son, Víctor Ullate Roche, welcomed the audience present at Teatro Echegaray. They were not alone, however, since the undisputed protagonist of the night was Víctor Ullate himself who, from his seat, received eight minutes of ovation at the end of the screening.
Eight minutes of applause touched the choreographer, who, with a tear in his eye, thanked everyone present for their love and Elena Cid for her great work. Regarding the documentary, and with a strained voice, he said: 'It is made with the heart and that fascinated me.' Overwhelmed by the response from the public, he confessed that the last three years have been hard for him due to health reasons. 'I am a fighter and I continue to fight, but getting to this moment has been a gift from God; It has touched my soul, I have no words.
But it was precisely these words that reassured the documentary’s director, who had verbalised his nervousness prior to the screening: 'It is a documentary about the love of dance through the life of Ullate, it is a biography but very choral. It is the first time that Ullate is going to see the documentary and I hope he likes it, he gives me a lot of respect.' Furthermore, he assured that it is a dance documentary also for those who are not even in to dance, and that it allowed him to better understand this exciting world. 'To understand Ullate's life, you have to understand dance.'
The producer Sonia Martín wanted to highlight the director's involvement and has described the film as a tribute to all of Ullate's work, for whom she worked for many years and which left an important mark on her.
The dancer's son, Víctor Ullate Roche, thanked the large attendance at the screening, which for him means that 'there are many people who appreciate dance and appreciate the figure of my father. I hope we always remember him because he elevated dance in this country, there was a lot to be done and he was the one who promoted it. My father is a person who loves dance and has given it his all; Dance is something very self-sacrificing and we should take our hats off to hi, for reaching where he has reached.
The Teatro Echegaray discussion ended with the hope that the documentary brings Víctor Ullate's work closer to the new generations who were not lucky enough to see him in theatre and who can now see him dance in this film.
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