Mexico: No to Mel Gibson movie

2009-12-29 22:04

Mexico City - US actor and film director Mel Gibson has provoked protests at a Mexican prison with a new film he is shooting.

Gibson is set to shoot his next film in early 2010 at the Ignacio Allende prison in the port city of Veracruz. As a result of the plan, around 1 000 inmates including convicted thieves, kidnappers, murderers and drug traffickers were scheduled to be transferred.

About 300 relatives of the affected prisoners were blocking access to the prison since Monday to prevent the transfer, the Mexican daily Milenio reported on Tuesday.

Prison inmates in Mexico are often highly dependent on their families, who provide them with food, clothes and cash that make life in prison a lot easier.

Shooting the film was reportedly to take several months. The old Veracruz prison volunteered to host Gibson's efforts because inmates were set to be transferred in January anyway to a newly-built facility near the city.

The original construction schedule, however, was reportedly delayed, and the authorities decided to transfer inmates to faraway prisons so that the film could be shot as planned.

"Mel Gibson, it's your fault that they want to take away our relatives," one sign said.

"No to the transfer! Respect families!" said another.

Gibson already shot the action movie Apocalypto in Veracruz in early 2006.

- SAPA