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San Sebastian Film Festival defends Johnny Depp for his "principle of innocence"

  • The director of the San Sebastian Film Festival has argued his decision in the statement released on Friday. He recalled that the actor has not been "arrested, accused or convicted" in a case of gender-based violence and has stated that the Festival must respect this ethical principle if there is no firm judgment.

16 August 2021 - 10:58
Last updated: 13:02

The San Sebastian Film Festival has once again defended the decision to award the Donostia Prize to actor Johnny Depp. Associations of women filmmakers and political parties have accused Depp of mistreating his former wife and have criticised the decision of the Barcelona Cup. However, the Festival is clear: the actor “has not been arrested, accused or convicted” for machista violence.

In the absence of a firm ruling, the director of the Festival, José Luis Rebordinos, said that the "principle of innocence" must be respected. On Friday, the festival’s officials released a statement entitled “Let’s Talk about Ethics”, in which they stressed the importance of respecting this “basic principle of culture and the legal order”, at a time when “lynchings in social networks are common”.

On the other hand, they emphasized that Zinemaldia "understands violence against women" and is responsible for offering "safe environments" for women in the team. In this sense, they have pointed out that to promote equality, they have an annual schedule with a "critical and feminist point of view".

Criticisms made

The association of women filmmakers from the Basque Country and the group of women filmmakers and top audiovisual media have defended the election of an exemplary actor for the Basque society. In his view, the Festival should choose a person who, in addition to being a referent in the world of film, is also a referent in private life.

EH Bildu, for its part, has stated that the award of the Donostia Prize to the actress would contribute to "normalizing" male violence. Political training has denounced that recognition of Depp would lead to the problem “relativice” and “relativice”.

The organizers of the San Sebastian Film Festival have asked the agents to reject the decision. But they've been denied twice. Rebordinos noted last week that “the function of the festival is not to judge the behavior of members of the film industry.” On this occasion, he has defended the principle of 'no guilt' of the infanta.


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