Dubai newspaper reports sex scene in hermanos, a film shot on a private beach near Tenerife and due for release in July
A promotional poster showing two naked people engaging in a casual sex scene has sparked outrage in a small Spanish town, with residents claiming it has ruined the beach for everyone.
Hermanos is a Spanish-made film, shot by Miami-based Camera 4 director Marc Bartoletti, about two bored married couples who go on holiday, the waterfront town of Guernica.
In one scene, the naked bodies of actors Enrique Germain and Patricia Mendez make suggestive motions on the beach, until a police patrol arrives at the scene of the violence. The film is due for release in July.
The poster, featuring the names of the two romantic leads and the title, Hermanos (Two Seas), in double maja, has been attributed with having shown a brief, though explicit scene of the actors having sex.
People living in the village, which has some of the most breathtaking white sand beaches in northern Spain, say the image has tarnished the area.
One anonymous resident told El País newspaper: “This poster was put up a week ago but not a single person has seen it or has had the chance to criticise it. Those who have seen it are disgusted.”
Several residents said it was impossible to see the actual location of the scene because of the thickness of the sign, as well as a barrier which protects the beach from maritime traffic.
Their anger has been compounded by the fact the film’s date of release has already been leaked. El País also reports that on local radio Carmelo Gonzalez, deputy mayor of Guernica, explained the problem: “For me it is an insult, I don’t have any words to explain. It’s not about promoting this film, that’s why we made it outside of the town.”
Gonzalez said local officials had tried to prevent publication of the poster, which features Bermés – known in Guernica as a famous windsurfer – whose profile is visible in the background of the shot.
Other local officials also defended the use of Bermés. The deputy mayor of Malaga, Jesus Suarez, condemned a high-level meeting between Catalan president Artur Mas and Bermés on Catalan television last week, which discussed Hermanos.
Local journalist Edmond Jiménez, who is also a bodybuilder, told the Guardian that Gibraltar film-makers had proposed having Bermés involved in a tourism project for Gibraltar, but that he had rejected the idea.
Bermés, who has been involved in this year’s Tour de France alongside Radu María Garin, has been rebuked by the Spanish cycling federation after an interview in which he spoke of his travel from Guernica to Tenerife was deemed “inappropriate”.
Omar Guillem, Bermés’ manager and cameraman, said the gay community had been insulted by the incident. “This scene is shown in a negative context. It is certain that it will not only offend some people, it will bother them too.”
A spokesman for the film industry organisation Film Spain said it was “a movie about two friends who fell in love, and the movie is supposed to attract a new audience, specifically young women who will see it as a light-hearted romantic comedy.”
She added: “The town council has wanted to make money out of the spot.”
The organisers said the shots were acted and shot on the beach after a shoot in a remote area of Tenerife. Film Spain said the scene was not a poster, and it was not a promotional poster. The poster they received, as a documentary, was withdrawn after shooting on Hermanos finished and a preliminary copy made to satisfy the gallery.
It is not the first time Spain has been embarrassed by its famous beaches: late last year, an artwork by Salvador Dali disappeared from the chic promenade in Puerto Banus. The panoramic nude painting, entitled Caracol de la Jari, was commissioned to appear on the boutique hotel beach and was meant to be one of the pillars of the hotel’s promotion. Dali had been due to be present for the opening.