Johnny Depp’s Donastia Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival dispute by the Spanish Female Film-makers Association

Credit: Newyork.post

Spain’s female filmmakers are decrying Johnny Depp to receive an award at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

A high-profile “Pirates of the Caribbean” star will receive a Donostia Award at the festival’s 69th edition, the country’s most prestigious event. The award, which honors lifetime achievement, is the event’s top prize, something that is a highly controversial decision.

The group stated that they gave the international event a bad name after a British judge ruled a libel case last year over the allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife Amber Heard against the actor were “substantially correct.”

 President of Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, Cristina Andreu, told that she was “very surprised” by the decision to grant Depp the Donostia Award, which was announced on Monday (Aug 10).

“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.

Andreu continued, “The association, which has close links to the San Sebastian festival, was” studying next steps, ” The association, which has close links to the San Sebastian festival, was “studying next steps.”

The San Sebastián festival is set in the Basque resort town and will take place from September 17 to 25, in northern Spain. Depp will accept the honor in person on September 22nd, marking his third visit to the event. It recognized Depp as “one of contemporary cinema’s most accomplished and versatile performers” in a statement on its website. Viggo Mortensen, Penélope Cruz, and Judi Dench have all received the Donostia award recently.

The international film festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, has also announced that it will “honor” Depp during its upcoming event in August.

Heard sued Depp for $50 million in defamation in Virginia in 2019 after the “Aquaman” actress wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post concerning domestic abuse that drew on her experience with Depp.