Over
the
course
of
this
week,
two
European
film
festivals
announced
that
they'll
be
honouring
US
actor
Johnny
Depp
for
his
artistic
contributions
to
cinema.
On
Monday,
the
San
Sebastian
Film
Festival
2021
in
northern
Spain
announced
that
Depp
would
receive
its
Premio
Donostia
honorary
prize
on
22
September.
It
cited
Depp
as
"one
of
contemporary
cinema's
most
talented
and
versatile
actors" with
a
reputation
for
playing
"almost
always
misfits".
This
was
followed
on
Tuesday
when
the
Czech
Republic's
Karlovy
Vary
Film
Festival
2021
said
it
would
honor
the
actor's
"extensive
career
and
lasting
legacy" later
this
month,
describing
him
as
an
"icon
of
the
contemporary
cinema."
These
announcements
have
drawn
the
ire
of
female
filmmakers
and
domestic
violence
charities
alike.
Abuse
Doesn't
Matter?
Cristina
Andreu,
the
president
of
the
Spanish
Association
of
Women
in
Cinema
and
Audiovisual
(CIMA),
said
the
San
Sebastian
Film
Festival
award
was
inappropriate
while
Depp
is
on
trial
for
allegedly
assaulting
his
ex-wife,
actress
Amber
Heard.
The
presumption
of
innocence
applies,
Andreu
told
the
EFE
news
agency.
"We're
just
saying
that
it's
not
the
right
time
to
give
him
an
award
before
we
really
know
what
happened."
Women's
charities
in
the
United
Kingdom
too
have
also
voiced
their
objections
to
these
awards.
Referring
also
to
the
Spanish
award,
Solace
Women's
Aid
public
affairs
manager,
Erin
Mansell,
told
the
BBC
that
when
perpetrators
of
domestic
abuse
are
lauded
for
their
professional
achievements
despite
evidence
that
they
have
assaulted
current
or
former
partners,
it
sends
a
misleading
message
to
survivors
that
the
abuse
doesn't
matter.
"The
decision
to
award
this
lifetime
achievement
prize
is
particularly
insulting
in
the
wake
of
a
year
where
domestic
abuse
spiralled
under
conditions
needed
to
address
a
global
pandemic."
Cinematic
Art
Should
Be
Honoured
In
contrast,
the
director
of
the
San
Sebastian
International
Film
Festival,
José
Luis
Rebordinos,
told
EFE
that
the
festival's
function
is
not
to
judge
the
behaviour
of
filmmakers,
"but
to
honour
those
people
who
have
made
an
extraordinary
contribution
to
the
art
of
cinema."
Depp,
who
haus
been
nominated
for
an
Oscar
three
times
and
won
a
Golden
Globe
among
many
other
awards,
has
been
embroiled
in
protracted
legal
battles
with
Heard
who
has
accused
him
of
domestic
violence.
The
two
stars
tied
the
knot
in
2015
after
meeting
on
the
set
of
The
Rum
Diary
in
2009.
A
year
later,
in
2016,
Heard
filed
for
divorce
and
accused
Depp
of
domestic
violence.
In
August
2016,
a
$7
million
settlement
was
reached,
which
Heard
claimed
she
would
donate
to
the
American
Civil
Liberties
Union
and
Children's
Hospital
in
Los
Angeles.
In
2019,
Depp
sued
Heard
and
lost
a
$50
million
defamation
lawsuit
after
she
wrote
about
her
experiences
in
an
article
in
The
Washington
Post.
The
58-year-old
had
also
lost
his
libel
suit
against
the
British
tabloid
The
Sun
that
had
called
him
a
"wife
beater."
A
High
Court
ruled
last
year
that
the
newspaper's
article
was
"substantially
true"
and
that
twelve
of
the
14
assaults
attributed
to
him
had
"taken
place."
It
was,
however,
not
a
criminal
case.
Forcing
Heard's
Hand
Johnny
Depp
however
recently
won
a
lawsuit
that
will
force
Heard
to
reveal
if
she
did
donate
her
divorce
settlement
money
as
she'd
previously
claimed.
Having
repeatedly
maintained
his
innocence,
Depp
and
his
lawyers
have
accused
Heard
instead
of
attempting
to
gain
financially
from
him.
If
it
is
revealed
that
Heard
didn't
go
through
with
her
promise
of
donating
her
settlement,
it
could
be
used
as
evidence
against
her
character
in
their
divorce
battle.
Depp's
career
has
slumped
since
with
Warner
Bros
dropping
him
from
the
lineup
of
the
third
installment
of
Fantastic
Beasts
franchise,
written
and
produced
by
Harry
Potter
author
J.K.
Rowling.
Danish
actor,
Mads
Mikkelsen,
took
on
the
role
of
Grindelwald,
and
the
film
is
scheduled
for
release
in
2022.
Depp
was
also
removed
from
the
sixth
instalment
of
the
wildly
successful
Disney
franchise,
Pirates
of
the
Caribbean
in
which
he
played
the
iconic
Captain
Jack
Sparrow.
Text
and
Photo:
DW
News.
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