The Goya ceremony, the annual high mass of Spanish cinema, is being held on Saturday February 10 while the sector is shaken in the country by accusations of sexual violence against a figure of independent cinema.
“
Sexual violence and abuse of power have no place in the world of cinema and in Spanish society
,” insisted the Spanish Cinema Academy, which will put this subject at the center of the ceremony of this Spanish equivalent of French César, organized this year in Valladolid (north-west).
Assuring the victims of her “solidarity”, she also promised to establish a “protocol” to prevent this violence.
On the eve of the gala, during which Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz will present some of the prizes, the Minister of Culture announced the creation of a unit specializing in the care of victims of sexist violence in the cultural sector.
“
We have a serious problem with sexual assault and sexual violence also in the world of culture and institutions must therefore act
,” Ernest Urtasun, of the radical left Sumar party, told La Sexta television channel.
Read alsoJudith Godrèche affair: the Tours film festival cancels the arrival of Jacques Doillon
Charges at the end of January
This #MeToo in Spanish cinema broke out at the end of January with the publication of an investigation by the daily El Pais in which three women accused filmmaker Carlos Vermut of sexual violence.
Figure of independent cinema, Carlos Vermut, whose real name is Carlos López del Rey, won the most prestigious prize at the San Sebastian festival in 2014, a major event for Spanish-speaking cinema, for his second feature film,
Magical Girl
(
La niña de fuego
), critically acclaimed.
The accusations against him caused a wave of indignation in Spain, a country at the forefront in the fight against gender violence.
Vermut affirmed in El Pais that he was not “
aware of having carried out sexual violence on a woman
”, but admitted to having “
strangled people but in a consensual manner
”.
In the wake of this affair, another Spanish director, Armando Ravelo, was accused by an artist of having “
incited
” her to have sexual relations when she was only 14 years old.
Since the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017, figures from the world of cinema have been accused of sexual violence in many countries, like in France the actor Gérard Depardieu or the filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, against whom actress Judith Godrèche filed a complaint.
The films
The Snow Circle
and
20,000 Species of Bees
are the big favorites of this Goya ceremony, which could be disrupted by the angry movement of Spanish farmers, mobilized for several days to denounce the difficulties they face.