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Almodóvar cancels new film junket amid tax fraud scrutiny

Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has cancelled a press junket for his newest film "Julieta", his production company said Tuesday, as he faces scrutiny over offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called Panama Papers.

Almodóvar cancels new film junket amid tax fraud scrutiny
Pedro Almodóvar was named in the Panama Papers. Photo: AFP

“Given the news priority over matters unrelated to 'Julieta', we at (production firm)  El Deseo have decided to call off the photo call and junket planned for tomorrow,” it said in a statement.

The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups made public a year-long worldwide investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents leaked from a Panama-based law firm that allegedly expose a tangle of offshore financial dealings by the elite.

Among those involved are friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the brother-in-law of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, football star Lionel Messi, Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson – who resigned Tuesday – as well as Almodóvar and his brother Agustin, the co-founders of El Deseo

In a tweet, Agustin Almodóvar said the junket had been cancelled due to the “pressure” they were under but he said that scheduled one-on-one interviews would go ahead.

According to the online daily El Confidencial, which revealed part of the leaked documents, the brothers gained control of an offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands in 1991, though it is unclear whether the firm ever had any funds.

In a statement, Agustin Almodóvar acknowledged that the firm was created “ahead of the possible international expansion of our company.”  

But “the firm was left to die without having been active as it did not fit with our way of working.”

“I deeply regret the damage made to my brother's public image, caused exclusively by my lack of experience in the first years of our family firm,” he adds.

“In any case, I reiterate that both my brother Pedro and I, as well as our production firm, are up to date with all our tax obligations.”  

The press junket had been set to take place Wednesday in Madrid, just two days before “Julieta” comes out in Spain.  

The drama, which stars Spanish actresses Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte, tells the life story of a woman whose daughter inexplicably left home when she turned 18 and has given no sign of life for over a decade.

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FILMS

Berlinale to host outdoor festival for film fans in June

Organisers of the Berlin film festival said Monday that pandemic conditions in the German capital had improved enough for them to hold a planned outdoor edition in June.

Berlinale to host outdoor festival for film fans in June
An empty area outside the Berlinale Palast in March 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

The coronavirus outbreak forced the Berlinale, one of Europe’s top cinema showcases, to push back its usual February event and split it into two parts.

It held an all-online edition for critics and industry buyers in March and will now press on with an exclusively outdoor festival for the general public June 9th-20th.

“The Berlinale is pleased to be able to give audiences the enjoyment of an open-air cinema experience at 16 venues in total at the Summer Special,” it said in a statement.

It said Berlin’s falling infection rate “as well as positive signals by government offices” had led to the decision.

“Audiences will be getting a very special, collective festival experience – something we’ve all been missing for such a long time,” organisers said.

The June edition “is geared towards re-igniting the desire to go to the cinema, and to contributing to the revival of cultural activities with an audience”.

READ ALSO: Germany holds virtual Berlinale film fest

The programme will be made up primarily of movies shown online at the March edition, including the winners of its Golden and Silver Bear prizes, which will be awarded at a gala ceremony on June 13th.

Existing open-air cinemas throughout the city as well as a specially created site on Berlin’s historic Museum Island will serve as venues and comply with pandemic hygiene rules.

Ticket sales will begin on May 27th.

The global coronavirus outbreak has dealt a body blow to the cinema industry and created major complications for film distribution and production for over a year.

Cannes, the world’s top film festival, usually held in May, has been postponed to July 6-17 this year due to the pandemic and was cancelled outright last year.

The Berlinale, now in its 71st year, awarded its Golden Bear top prize in March to the biting social satire “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” by Romania’s Radu Jude.

The city of Berlin on Monday reported a seven-day coronavirus incidence just over the 100-mark, meaning cinemas, restaurants and other facilities remain closed.

However, officials are hopeful that an accelerating vaccination campaign and tightened lockdown measures will bring infections down soon, allowing for an at least partial reopening.

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