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Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar used his appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday to criticize Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Vladimir Putin, calling the three leaders “monsters” while presenting his latest film, Bitter Christmas, in competition.
Speaking at a press conference in Cannes, the director said Europeans had a responsibility to stand up against the leaders he named.
“As Europeans, we are also obliged to become a kind of shield against these monsters like Trump, Netanyahu, or the Russians,” Almodovar said, referring to the U.S., Israeli and Russian leaders.
The Spanish director, known internationally for films such as Talk to Her and Volver, also wore a “Free Palestine” pin on his lapel during the festival appearance. The gesture reflected his public criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Almodovar’s comments came after Spanish actor Javier Bardem also criticized the same three leaders at Cannes on Sunday. Bardem had condemned what he called their “toxic masculinity” in an expletive-laden statement.
Almodovar is in Cannes with Bitter Christmas, a new competition title that has already drawn mixed reviews in Spain.
The film marks a personal project for the director, focusing on a filmmaker who runs out of ideas and begins taking stories from people close to him.
While Bitter Christmas centers on creative exhaustion and borrowed stories, Almodovar’s press conference placed the film within a broader public moment at Cannes. His remarks added a political edge to the festival’s competition lineup.
The Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s most prominent film events, once again became a setting where cinema and political statements crossed paths. Almodovar’s comments stood out as one of the festival’s latest high-profile interventions.
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