It was not an isolated event. This Monday, at least two more guests invited to the Feroz Awards in Zaragoza denounced having been harassed by Javier Pérez Santana, the producer of the film Mi vacío y yo, who was arrested on Sunday as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of sexual assault on a actress present at the party after the gala.
One of those alleged victims was the screenwriter and television collaborator Roberto Enríque Higueras, better known as Bob Pop, who recounted on Cadena Ser how this producer "came three times to try to eat my mouth without my permission, while I dodged as best I could." ”.
According to his account, it was the following day when, upon seeing the photo of the detainee in the press, he realized that it was the same person who had harassed him while he was chatting with other guests. In this sense, he lamented the "normality" with which this type of situation is assumed, since the first thing he thought at that moment was that he had received "the slimy drunk quota that you get at all parties and you hold on”.
However, after being aware of the actress's complaint, he said he had realized "how badly educated we are in my generation" thinking that a situation like this is normal, and praised that with the new law of "only yes is yes" It is assumed that there are things that there is no reason to put up with, “neither from a drunkard nor from anyone”.
Another of the complainants was the film director Marc Ferrer, known for films like Cut!. On his Instagram account, he assured that Santana's 'modus operandi' was to kiss those present on the mouth and neck and touch the ass. “He was like this with me on two occasions. And all the while asking me what he had to do to sleep with me, ”he denounced. In addition, he pointed out that during the celebration of the same gala last year he also suffered the "harassment" of Santana, and applauded the actress Jedet for denouncing these episodes.
The events occurred in the early hours of Sunday, when the actress denounced non-consensual touching and continued harassment by the producer to the security personnel of the event, who was arrested on the spot by local police officers. On Sunday afternoon, the producer of the firm Testamento went before the court to give a statement, and around nine o'clock at night his release with charges was ordered, at which time he left the courts in a hurry covering his face with a jacket. This newspaper contacted the representative of the artist, who did not want to make statements about what happened.
Meanwhile, the National Police continues to investigate a second individual for an alleged crime of sexual assault committed during the same evening. The complaint for these events was filed on Sunday by a man whose identity has not been revealed against another of the male attendees, who would have already been identified but has not yet been arrested by the agents.
In this regard, the film director Adrián Silvestre, who accompanied the producer Pérez to the gala as the author of the nominated film Mi vacío y yo, assured this Monday that he is not involved with the alleged sexual assaults reported. He also asked for respect for his person after various media outlets pointed out that the second person denounced belonged to the team of the arrested producer.
"I did not witness the events for which Javier Pérez Santana was arrested. I was not present during the altercation with the actress, the arrival of the police or the subsequent arrest," he said in a Twitter thread. The director says he was aware of what happened the following day through the press and that he was not involved, directly or indirectly, "neither in this nor in any other sexual assault."
Silvestre hopes that the law will clarify the facts denounced "as soon as possible" and demanded that the right to honor towards his person be respected. "The damage done to me, my family and my career is being irreparable," he warned.
During the day on Monday, expressions of condemnation and rejection of the denounced facts followed one another from different areas. Actresses like Melani Olivares cried out against "two despicable beings" who did not deserve to be there. "Let's point out the aggressors and wrap up the victims," she stressed on her social networks.
The director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, winner of the Feroz award for best screenplay for her film Cinco lobitos, spoke in this vein, who in RNE celebrated that this issue is being treated with "the seriousness, respect and rigor" it deserves before extending their support for the victims.
For its part, the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA) called for "zero tolerance" in cases of sexual assault. "We do not care who the aggressor is, it is intolerable that this type of act occurs," said its president, Virginia Yagüe.
From the institutional level, the mayor of Zaragoza, Jorge Azcón, showed this Monday "all the solidarity and affection for the people who suffered sexual assaults." For his part, the president of Aragon, Javier Lambán, reiterated his "condemnation and indignation" and transferred his "total support" to the victims.
