Ulrich Seidl Cancels Attendance at San Sebastian ‘Sparta’ Premiere
variety.comJohn Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Austrian director Ulrich Seidl has cancelled his visit to San Sebastian for the Sept.
18 world premiere of “Sparta,” amid allegations of impropriety and child exploitation made against the director. The world premiere will still go ahead at San Sebastian with the film playing in main competition contending for San Sebastian’s Gold Shell.
Seidl’s decision comes after the Toronto Film Festival pulled “Sparta” and on Sept. 14, FilmFest Hamburg announced that it would no longer be giving Seidl its Douglas Sirk Award, though it would be screening “Sparta.” “I am very grateful to [San Sebastian director] José Luis Rebordinos for supporting “Sparta” from the beginning, despite the media pressure and the sudden and unexpected polemics it has created.
It means a lot to me,” Seidl said via a written statement transmitted on Saturday by Spanish SVOD platform Filmin, which distributes the film in Spain. “My initial impulse was to attend San Sebastian and not leave alone the film on which I and my team have worked for so many years,” Seidl continued. “However,” he went on, “I’ve realized that my presence at the festival could overshadow the reception of film.
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