Le Gardois created the Magos Foundation, in Malaga: an exceptional collection dedicated to the Three Wise Men and through which he wants to promote intercultural dialogue.
Documentary film director Joël Soler, born in Alès, has just inaugurated the Magos foundation in Malaga (Spain), where he lives, in the presence of ambassadors, two Nobel Peace Prize winners and representatives of the international criminal court. or the actor Antonio Banderas… An exceptional collection on the world of the Three Wise Men, which is intended to be a testimony of openness.
A few years ago, you came out of a Turkish prison where you had been locked up without good reason (read below) and you gave us an interview. There, you open a foundation intended for the Three Wise Men… What happened in the meantime?
I went to Türkiye to do location scouting for a documentary on the Three Kings. This visit to Türkiye reinforced this idea that the message of the Three Kings, a message of coexistence between cultures, is very mistreated. This is what pushed me to create the Magos foundation.
Why were you interested in these figures, the Three Wise Men?
It’s linked to two things. First there are my Andalusian origins, with this East-West mix. I have ancestors who were Moors who converted to Christianity. I often go to Granada. The Alhambra was a great place of coexistence…It’s a theme that touches me personally. My family is a pied-noir family. After the Andalusian, they left for Algeria. This whole East-West thing haunted me, even though I was born in Alès.
Then you had a revelation in Ethiopia…
Yes, during my travels, I went to Aksum. And I saw there the tomb of the mage king Balthazar. that intrigued me. For me, the Three Kings were the crown, the cake and a little Sheila. In Ethiopia, there is a whole story around Balthazar, descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. I found the story incredible. I started to do research on the other Magi, I found Roman texts from the 1st century, the first Theologians of the East… History fascinated me. I started working on it and I said to myself that rather than making a documentary, I was going to make an exhibition, mixing works of art and filming from around the world. Like in the South of India where the baptism of the Magi is celebrated every year, during a large procession.
What is this Magos foundation like?
It is first of all a large collection on the Three Wise Men and the kings of the East who participated in coexistence. Phoenicians, Nabataeans… The collection on the Three Wise Men is the largest in the world. Sculpture paintings, from the 14th and 15th centuries, art objects that represent their environment. We have more than 2000 pieces. We were able to put together this collection thanks to the support of partners, the largest of which is an organization in Abu Dhabi, responsible for promoting the document of universal brotherhood, signed between the pope and the Sunni Muslim leader of the Al-Azhar mosque. All the pieces belong to the Magos foundation except one, loaned by the artist Berrocal.
Is this an exhibition intended to be traveling?
Yes, the idea is that the exhibition tours, particularly in France. Malaga was only the beginning of the adventure.
So the Three Wise Men really existed?
Apart from the tomb of King Balthazar in Ethiopia, we cannot say that there is archaeological evidence of the existence of the Three Wise Men. On the other hand, there is the history of the writings which is very important. We have writings from the 1st century which speak of these Three Wise Men. Of course, there is the Bible, with the passage of Saint-Mathieu, but there are also great theologians of the 1st century, or even the Romans. Flavius Iosephus thus spoke of wise men who came from Persia, who were looking for a new messiah.
What message do you put behind this collection?
A message of coexistence, of dialogue of cultures. For example, we have in our collection 1200 stamps representing the Three Wise Men in 150 countries. There is a real universal side. Today, wisdom has deserted many presidential palaces. We maintain that dialogue is possible. Magos is the wise one, the one who can do great things. And we try to promote that.
A director who is not afraid
Director of documentary films, Joël Soler quickly focused his work on the world of dictators. Among other things, he directed Uncle Saddam, about Saddam Hussein, and the series Despot Housewifes about the wives of dictators. In 2021, after incarceration in Turkey for reasons that turned out to be spurious, he testified about detention conditions and denounced human rights violations.
