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In a move that is sure to spark controversy and potential backlash, the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain will honor actor Johnny Depp with his Donostia Award, a lifelong honor that recognizes “contributions exceptional in the world of cinema “.
Depp, arguably one of the world’s best-known and best-known actors, is nowadays often viewed as publicly toxic after his failed libel case against the British tabloid. The sun, which ended with the courts confirming the newspaper’s description of him as a “wife beater” and the ruling judge saying he believed Depp assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard Many times. The decision directly led Warner Bros. to remove Depp from its Fantastic beasts franchise and replace him with Mads Mikkelsen as the evil wizard Grindelwald. More recently, Minamata, a passionate project for Depp in which he plays an American photographer who has drawn the world’s attention to a devastating environmental disaster in Japan, was reportedly buried by MGM to avoid the controversy swirling around his star.
But all this did not deter San Sebastian, who, unveiling the Donostia Prize on Monday, called Depp “one of the most talented and versatile actors in contemporary cinema”. Depp will receive his Donostia Award in San Sebastian on Wednesday September 22.
In response to a request for Hollywood journalist, San Sebastian festival director José Luis Rebordinos explained his decision to honor Depp, despite the controversy surrounding him.
“The role of a film festival is not to judge the conduct of members of the film industry. The role of a film festival is to select the most relevant and interesting films of the year and to recognize those who have made extraordinary contributions to the art of cinema, ”Rebordinos said in a statement. “The Donostia Award to Johnny Depp is our recognition of a great actor, a man of cinema with a great career, who visited us last year as producer of the film. Crock of Gold: some tricks with Shane Macgowan by Julien Temple, who won the Special Jury Prize.
Last year’s Donostia Award winner was Viggo Mortensen, who also presented his directorial debut, Fall, in San Sebastian in 2020.
San Sebastian presented the Donostia Award in 1986, with theater legend Gregory Peck as the first recipient. Previous winners also included Glenn Ford (1987), Bette Davies (1989), Lauren Bacall (1992), Anthony Hopkins (1998) and Glenn Close (2011). The festival often names multiple laureates in a single year, honoring both Antonio Banderas and Meryl Streep in 2008, or Penélope Cruz, Donald Sutherland and director Costa-Gavras (Missing) in 2019.
The 69th San Sebastian Film Festival, which runs September 17-25, has already unveiled much of its lineup, which will include new films from arthouse favorites Terence Davies, Claudia Llosa and Lucile Hadzihalilovic, respectively in competition with Blessing, Fever dream and Ear piercing, as well as a program in Spanish for the general public which includes the comedy by Fernando León de Aranoa The good boss, with Javier Bardem, and the Fortune Hunters TV series The wealth of Others director Alejandro Amenabar.
The winner of the Spanish festival competition program is honored with its Golden Shell award. In 2020, the prize was awarded to Start, the debut feature film by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili.
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