Spain Cinema Faces #MeToo Moment At Goya Awards

Spain's glittering Goya film awards ceremony, which takes place Saturday, looks set to be overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault directed at an independent Spanish filmmaker.

On the eve of the ceremony, actor Sigourney Weaver, who is to be honoured at the event, addressed the affair at a news conference.

Saturday night's ceremony, which will see director Pedro Almodovar and actor Penelope Cruz presenting several awards, comes a fortnight after three women told El Pais they had suffered sexual violence at the hands of filmmaker Carlos Vermut.

All have asked to remain anonymous and none has filed a police complaint for fear of the effect on their careers. Interviewed by the newspaper, the filmmaker denied the allegations.

And on the eve of the event in the northwestern city of Valladolid, Spain's Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun pledged to open a unit to tackle such abuse allegations within the sector. It was, he admitted, "a very serious problem".

Ahead of the ceremony, the Spanish Film Academy also said it would fight against such abuses in the industry.

"Sexual violence and abuses of power have no place in the world of cinema or in Spanish society as a whole," said the academy, which runs the awards.