“We cannot talk about anti-Semitism without talking about xenophobia and racism, it is very important to address them together. Between 2021 and 2022, episodes of anti-Semitism rose by 36% in this country, the highest increase since it began, in 1979 to monitor the phenomenon (an activity that the Anti-Defamation League carries out in the USA, ed) and in my life I have never seen a negative situation like the one that exists now”. He says it Steven Spielberg at the TIME100 Summit 2023: Innovation for Tomorrow, the meeting organized in New York by Time magazine with personalities from every field, from politics to culture, from science to activism.
In a 20-minute panel, the director addressed various topics, including the commitment against anti-Semitism and racism with the Shoah Foundation, which he founded: “To raise awareness of these topics, we start from schools – he explains -. The best way to fight anti-Semitism and racism is to keep talking about it, because as soon as you stop doing it, these phenomena get worse”.
Coming to the cinema, Spielberg also revealed that he has seen Indiana Jones and the Quadrant of Destiny Of James Mangold, the fifth film in the saga, and the first that the filmmaker does not sign as director but only as executive producer: “I attended a screening a couple of days ago with James Mangold and many Disney managers. They all loved the film, it’s very very nice, I’m proud of what Jim (Mangold, ed.) did When the lights came back on in the room I turned to the group and said ‘Damn, I thought I was the only one capable of doing one of these’ ” he says smiling. The director also lingered on the future of cinema in theaters, once again emphasizing the important role played by Maverick with Tom Cruise in re-crowding theaters: what “that scares a little more is the fact that the public, especially the more adult , isn’t returning to theaters for mid-range films, dramas or even comedies. These are numbers we need to be able to say that cinema in theaters is back to health. But I’m optimistic”.
