President of Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media says film festival award ‘transmits a terrible message’
A leading group of Spanish
Women film-makers condemned the San Sebastián film festival’s decision to award Johnny Depp its highest honour, saying it gave the international event a bad name.
Cristina Andreu, the president of Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, said she was “very surprised” by the decision to award Depp the Donostia award at the festival’s 69th edition in September. The award is the event’s top prize and aims to honour lifetime achievement. “This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public: ‘It doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as long as you are a good actor’,” Andreu told the Associated Press.