Los Angeles, May 20 (IANS) Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar has advocated for the protection of Europe from the US President Donald Trump. The filmmaker recently attended the Cannes press conference for his new movie, ‘Bitter Christmas’ where he made the statement.

He said, “Europe must never be subjected to Trump”. The statement earned a rousing applause from the international press in attendance, reports ‘Variety’.

The director was responding to a question about censorship concerns given what’s going on in the U.S. under Trump and in France with controversy surrounding Canal+, whose head threatened a blacklist against artists who signed an open letter opposing the company’s main shareholder.

“This does affect us a lot”, he said of censorship concerns before urging artists not to succumb to such fears.

He said, “I don’t want to judge anyone, but I think artists have to speak out about the situation in which they live in contemporary society. It’s a moral duty. Silence and fear is a symptom that things are going badly. It’s a serious sign democracy is crumbling. On the contrary, creators must speak out… the worst thing that could happen would be to remain silent or to be censored. We have a moral obligation to speak out”.

As per ‘Variety’, the filmmaker urged his fellow artists “to act as a shield against this madness”. Ahead of the festival, the director called out the Oscars for being blatantly apolitical this year.

He told ‘Los Angeles Times’, “You know, I’m not really blaming anyone in particular, but it was quite notable watching the Oscar telecast where there were not many protests against the war or against Trump”.

“Maybe he wasn’t the only one, but the only real example I can remember came from a European, a friend of mine, Javier Bardem, who did directly say, “Free Palestine’”, he added.

–IANS

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