Woody Allen gets hostile reception in Donostia

WHILE other regions have been welcoming film makers with open arms, Woody Allen has been ‘greeted’ by up to 60 demonstrators in Donostia. 

Ironically, they were protesting for the very reason other areas want to attract shoots – the possibility of a boost to tourism. 

They argued that the film will generate a “harmful” growth in tourism and carried placards and chanted slogans including “Donostia no se vende”(Donostia is not for sale) and “”Woody Allen, fuera” (Woody Allen, out) and “Your tourism, my misery”, among others. 

In their manifesto, the callers denounced “the aid and the favourable treatment given by the public entities to Mediapro and Woody Allen to carry out this project.” 

They add: “We demand the suppression of any initiative aimed at increasing the influx of tourists in our city,” and called for the “elimination of the public budget for tourism promotion,” because the city “has already exceeded its capacity for sustainable tourism.” 

It is unlikely Woody Allen even noticed the protestors. The had originally planned the demonstration for Monday, then switched it to Tuesday to coincide with filming. However, they mistimed the demo, which took place several hours after filming had finished.