Ulrich Seidl’s ‘Sparta’ Will Premiere at San Sebastian Despite Child Exploitation Allegations (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comManori Ravindran International Editor Ulrich Seidl’s “Sparta” has been pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival amid allegations of impropriety and child exploitation against the director, but its premiere at next week’s San Sebastian Film Festival will continue as planned, Variety can reveal.
A spokesperson for the Spanish festival tells Variety on behalf of festival management that “Sparta” will remain in competition.
Providing a three-point list explaining their reasoning, San Sebastian said “the festival team assesses the films after their viewing according to their interest and quality” and that the event “does not have the ability to judge how a film has been shot and whether a crime has been committed in the course of the filming.
If anyone has any evidence of a crime, they should report it to a judge.” The statement concludes: “Only a court order would lead us to suspend a scheduled screening.” This means that “Sparta” is still very much on track for its Sept.
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