After leading the production of projects like Los últimos días, Blancanieves, The Machinist, Tengo ganas de ti and Tres metros sobre el cielo, among others, Josep Amorós is in the top 10 of Catalan film industry professionals.

This production manager, who has benn working almost 20 years in the audiovisual industry, keeps at it coordinating all kind of projects such as fictions, documentaries, commercials and television programs. He was awarded with the Gaudí prize in 2014 for the best production direction, for the film Los últimos días by Àlex and David Pastor, production for which he was also nominated to the Goya awards in 2014.

At the beginning of this year, Josep Amorós returned to Barcelona to shoot Traces of sandalwood, a film directed by Maria Ripoll, which was shot between our city and Mumbai. Now, while he finishes the last preparations for the film Anacleto, he has sparred a few minutes to talk to usabout his vision of the current film situation in Spain.

How were your beginnings in audiovisual production?

I started to work in production with a short film. My first feature film as a Production Manager was Costa Brava directed by Marta Balletbò, 20 years ago. It wasn’t easy, but now I see that the effort was worth it. I was very lucky to have with me professionals who helped me and believed in me. People like Jordi Cadena, Pastora Delgado, Luisa Matienzo, Paco Ramos, and many other producers, thanks to whom I can work in this bussiness. There are a lot of people who are starting out fowand I encourage them to continue striving to work in this sector. It is not easy, but they have to try.

How do you feel after the recognitions of your work by the Catalan and the Spanish Cinema Academies recognize your work?

The recognition of this two academies is very important for a technician, because it is the professionals of your industry who vote and recognize your work. So, it encourages me to go ahead with my career.

As a production manager, what do you expect from a film commission?

Film Commissions play an important role in the framework of the preparation of a movie, and also while the shooting. I expect them to support us, and help us during all the process, finding locations and coordinating the shooting permits and, in addition, being a good partner dealing with institutions such as the Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia. And of course, to attract foreign film shoots to roll in our cities.

What do you think is the key for a producer to survive in the current situation of film production in Spain?

Without doubt these are challenging times and it's not easy to survive right now. But we have to continue, it is our job and we love it. I am not sure what the keys out of the current situation would be. There must be a political will to make this work. Our industry has talent, we have some of the best technicians, perfect locations, actors, etc. We have it all, but we need a policy to provide us support to cover the needs that the industry has.

Traces of sandalwood, the last film you have produced, was shot between Mumbai and Barcelona. What are the pros and cons of working in such different cities?

It was a great experience. They are two very different cities, you can’t compare them. Filming in Barcelona's streets is much easier than shooting in Mumbai. The filming permits in India are very difficult to obtain and it's easier to roll on sets. It's true that I really envy the amount of shootings they have, and I want to point out the quality of their professional and technicians. Barcelona is a great set and is easy to move in it.  A city that has 20 or 25 million people living in it (in Barcelona has 1.6 million) cannot be comfortable to work in, and distances are so long, that you can be in a car during 2 hours to reach a location within the same city. However, shooting in India is fascinating!