CIMA President Christina Andrew, speaking to the Associated Press (AP), was “very surprised” by the festival’s decision, announced Monday, to award Johnny Depp the Donostia Prize for the 69th edition of the event, which takes place between 17 and 17 September. 25.
Christina Andrew said: “It says a lot about the festival and its leadership and sends a shocking message to the audience: ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re an abuser, as long as you’re a good actor.
He added that CIMA, which has close links to the San Sebastian festival, is “considering the next steps to be taken”.
In 2018, Johnny Depp accused a British newspaper of defamation for publishing an article reporting assaults on his ex-wife, and lost in court.
In March of this year, a British court rejected the actor’s ability to appeal a ruling that he had assaulted his ex-wife, American model and actress Amber Heard, saying his attempt to reverse the ruling had “no real prospect of success”.
In the wake of this case, Depp withdrew from the cast of the next movie in the “Fantastic Monsters” saga, which prompted specialist magazine Variety to question whether the actor’s career would continue.
The Donostia Prize was created for the San Sebastian Festival in 1986 “to honor the extraordinary contribution to the world of cinema made by the great personalities who will forever remain in its history.”
The festival has been rated as “one of the most talented and diverse actors in contemporary cinema”, and Depp is scheduled to receive the award on September 22, in what will be his third time at the Basque Festival.
He made his film debut in 1984 with “Nightmare on Elm Street”, in 1984, when he starred six years later in Tim Burton’s “Eduardo Maos de Scissors” and “Who Doesn’t Cry No…Loves” directed by John Waters.
He was nominated three times for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe winner (in 2008, for “Sweeney Todd”, also written by Tim Burton), and also won the Best Actor in the Career Award for his role in the first film in the epic “Piratas das Caribbean”. .
Depp played writers, undercover cops or fugitives, in actors who put him alongside characters such as Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway, Jerry Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Helena Bonham Carter, Javier Bardem, Kate Winslet, Mark Rylance, Dustin Hoffman, Judy The festival mentioned Dench, Antonio Banderas, John Malkovich, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker, Al Pacino, Benedict Cumberbatch, Morgan Freeman, Benicio del Toro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Plummer, among many others.
In the past, the Donostia Award has been given to such personalities as Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum, Al Pacino, Ethan Hawke and Sigourney Weaver, among others.
Depp will also be honored this year at the Czech Karlovy Vary Festival, which today announced the organization of the event that will also feature British actor Michael Caine.
Salman Rushdie is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, politics, literature, and international affairs. He focuses on delivering clear, informative reporting that helps readers understand the people, events, and trends influencing today’s world.
