The #MeToo movement has claimed another casualty. Spain’s Málaga Film Festival, unspooling March 1-10, has canceled the participation of U.S.-born director Julio Hernandez Cordon’s vampire drama “The Day is Long and Dark” (“El día es largo y oscuro”) at the festival, citing “complaints regarding acts of gender violence.”
In a press release issued on Feb. 28, the Spanish festival declared it had decided to withdraw the film “in order to avoid situations that may endanger the vulnerability of the affected individuals and in line with the strong commitment of this Festival against any form of violence against women and in favor of full equality of rights…”
Hernandez Cordon, who resides between Mexico and Guatemala, and his Colombia-based producer, Diana Bustamante, heard about the decision in the Spanish press as the festival director’s letter to Bustamante arrived later in the afternoon in Colombia after the news had already been published in El Pais.
She fired off a letter to the festival, which states that it has said all it has had to say in its initial communiqué.
In her letter to them, which Bustamante shared with PvNew, she pointed out that Hernández Cordón had written to them on Feb. 13 about the incidents, where he assumed responsibility for his actions, expressed remorse and outlined his commitment to make amends. “Over the past two years, he has diligently worked to rectify behaviors that adversely affected the women who were his long-term partners at various points in their relationships.”
“It is perplexing that the festival would make a decision that, while supposedly preventive, seems to inflict collective punishment on an entire team. For a film festival, especially one as reputable as the Málaga Film Festival, to unilaterally label an individual as a perpetrator without due investigation or dialogue, undermines the very essence of culture as a space for nuanced conversation and understanding,” she added.
“It is important to point out that there are no criminal complaints of any kind against Julio, and all allegations are anonymous, although Julio has identified and spoken with them. It is only one of them who keeps this concern alive, and who triggered the issue in Malaga,” Bustamante told PvNew.
“I recognize that I made mistakes but while my reputation is now tarnished, what worries me more is how it has impacted my ability to provide work to more than a 100 people each time I make a film,” Hernandez Cordon told PvNew. Providing for his two young daughters and their mother will also be affected, he added. The filmmaker stresses that he attended a course on male violence for seven months at the Boston Institute in Mexico City.
The accusations against Hernández Cordón first surfaced publicly in May 2022. Four women detailed instances of physical and emotional abuse on the Las Landetas website, an anonymous group of professionals within the Mexican film industry aimed at shedding light on the violence in places of instruction and work. The testimonies outlined acts of aggression, psychological manipulation, and the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease, allegedly knowingly passed on by the director.
Hernández Cordón revealed that he actually did not want to send his film to Malaga because the ex-partner who raised the issue at the festival is also a filmmaker and resides in the Andalusian city. “I didn’t want any conflict and I wasn’t planning to go,” he said. They also have a son who he has not seen in five years. “I want her to be fine so that my son will be fine, too,” he added.
Two actors and the DP were scheduled to attend Málaga and although festival director Juan Antonio Vigar said they were free to come despite the film’s pullout, Bustamante, who wasn’t planning to go, has cancelled their flights.
“The Day is Long and Dark” revolves around a young teen vampire who struggles to suppress her deadly instincts. Her father strives to help his anguished young daughter who is afraid she will attack her mother and the boy she likes.
Hernández Cordón is best known for his films “Cómprame un revolver,” which competed in Cannes 2018, and “Te prometo anarquía” nominated in 2016 for Best Director at Mexico’s prestigious Ariel Awards. His debut feature, “Gasolina” (2008), won the Horizontes Latinos award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
“The Day is Long and Dark” was scheduled to world premiere at Málaga’s ZoneZine Official Competition section. A festival in Latin America has expressed interest in screening it, said Hernández Cordón.
Shot in Mexico from a screenplay penned by Hernández Cordón, it stars Carla Nieto, Luis Alberti, Mila Mijangos and Eli Acosta.
