Pedro Almodóvar declared at the Cannes press conference for his new movie, “Bitter Christmas,” that “Europe must never be subjected to Trump,” which earned a rousing applause from the international press in attendance. 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 effect us a lot,” Almodóvar said of censorship concerns before urging artists not to succumb to such fears.
“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,” the director said. “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.”
Almodóvar 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.
“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,” Almodóvar observed to Los Angeles Times. “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.’”
“People are obviously very frightened,” the director continued. “The U.S. is not a democracy right now. Some people say it’s maybe an imperfect democracy, but I really don’t think the U.S. is a democracy right now. The heartbreaking and ironic thing is that democracy has given rise, through the proper, right voting mechanism, to this kind of totalitarian regime. And it’s both a paradox and it’s also incredibly sad.”
Almodóvar is no stranger to publicly bashing Trump. Back in 2025 while receiving the Chaplin Award at Lincoln Center in New York City, he referred to the U.S. president by saying America was “ruled by a narcissistic authority, who doesn’t respect human rights.” He later said Trump would be remembered as a “catastrophe.”
When asked by the Los Angeles Times if he fears what speaking out could do to his career, Almodóvar answered, “Not at all.”
“I don’t have many fears. In a generalized Spanish sense, here we’re not afraid to call things for what they are. We have a government that has called Gaza a genocide and the Spanish people in general are not afraid to call these wars out for what they are,” he explained, adding that “it’s easier for me to be clear” with his beliefs because he’s a foreigner and works outside of Hollywood.
Almodóvar’s latest, “Bitter Christmas,” premiered to a 6.5-minute standing ovation in Cannes and is his eighth film in competition at Cannes. “All About My Mother” won him the best director prize in 1999, while “Volver” earned him the best screenplay award in 2006.
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