With just weeks left until the US presidential election, Benicio Del Toro has spoken out against the way candidates use issues such as immigration to drum up support for the election.
The Oscar-winning star of “Traffic” and “Sicario” hosted a masterclass as the guest of honor at the 16th Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France.
Del Toro is among the stars attending the festival, which is organized by Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux. Other notable talents working in Lyon include Xavier Dolan, Isabelle Huppert, Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci.
“You can’t group people together and say they’re all bad people…Most people who are trying to go to America, no matter where they’re from, have problems back home, so they’re trying to improve their lives. “They are trying to make their lives better, but I think borders should be respected,” he said.
“Politics is a dirty game. Things are tough right now. There are a lot of people suffering because of it. We have to rein it in. There will be elections and we’ll see what happens, I believes in young people.”
After discussing films about drug trafficking and cartels, del Toro was asked about the weaponization of immigrants by politicians. Although he did not refer to the candidates by name, he said: “I do not agree with treating anyone as less than a human being because of the color of their skin, their religion or their origins.” ”
The actor has a number of projects lined up, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which is currently in theaters. He will also star in Anderson’s sequel, The Battle of Bakutan Kross, co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn.
When asked what he thought about the dominance of streaming platforms and whether it would lead to more relevant content, del Toro replied: “When change happens, I’m like, ‘Let it rip, let it rip!’ I think there’s more opportunity now for people who are interested in that kind of film and storytelling.”
But he said, pointing to the screen behind Lyon’s historic Pathé cinema, where the masterclass was being held. “This way of looking at movies is the best for me,” he confessed, adding that he liked the movie. Because of the long format, people don’t have the “attention span” to watch something as long as a miniseries.
But he said, “I’ve been in it and had a good time, so I’d be a hypocrite to say it didn’t work.” I did a series and it was so funny that I made a movie called “Reptile” which went straight to Netflix and was really fun. And we found our audience. Now I hope you can experience it in a group in a box,” he said.
“But go with it, you can’t stop it — the phone, it’s too strong to stop it. My daughter, she watches everything on her phone… but going to the movies… I love it!”
When asked which filmmaker he’d like to collaborate with other than icons like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson, and Oliver Stone, del Toro didn’t hesitate. “There are many,” he answered. “Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers… there’s a lot. It’s also a combination of stories, roles and availability.” “But I’m willing to work with people who want to work with me. “Yes,” he quickly added with a laugh, drawing laughter from the Lyon audience.
The Lumière Film Festival will be held in and around Lyon until October 20th.