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Bafta winner Michael Radford refuses to have his name on recently released movie after three-year tussle over finances with producer

It is a story of love during war and of a stubborn, long-eared, four-legged animal that wanders through the battlefields of Spain's bloody civil war in the 1930s. But the recently released La Mula, or The Mule, is a film without a director, after Britain's Michael Radford refused to add his name to a film that he co-wrote and mostly directed.

Radford, who won a Bafta and was Oscar-nominated for Il Postino, walked away a few days before shooting was due to end. "We thought it would only be a few days and that we would finish the film when he came back, because there was only a week left," said Secun de la Rosa, one of the main actors.

Instead, Radford was replaced by a director with a French accent in a balaclava.

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

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The Irish Film Board and UK Film Council have today released a joint statement outlining their position with regards to 'La Mula's ongoing financial woes. Reports have emerged that 'La Mula's Spanish co-production company, Gheko Films recently approached both the UK's Department of Culture Media & Sport (Dcms) and Irish Finance Ministry in a bid to resolving the film's financial situation. Furthermore Irish co-producer, Subotica's Tristan Orpen Lynch has explained to Iftn that an injunction has now been set against Gheko Films. The Spanish/Irish/British co-production, 'La Mula' has, as previously reported on Iftn, endured a troubled production which, it would appear, is ongoing. The film, based on the novel by Juan Eslava Galan of the same name, centres around a soldier who tries to protect a mule during the Spanish civil war. 'La Mula' has been in the works for over...

The saga of the troubled production of 'La Mula' continues with the news that director Sebastien Grousset has concluded shooting of the film following the departure of director Michael Radford (The Merchant of Venice) from the film's set in November of last year. Speaking on behalf of Gheko Films, Relabel Comunicación's Anabel Mateo tells us that Sébastien Grousset was brought in to helm the four days of shooting required to finish production on the set of the Irish co-production. Sébastien has been responsible for the advertising campaigns of many high-profile companies including Seat, Volkswagen, Mercededs, Telefonica and Fanta.

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Director Michael Radford (The Merchant of Venice) has suspended production on set of his new film 'La Mula (The Mule)'. The film, which is co-produced by Irish company Subotica and supported by the Irish Film Board, has been in the works for two and a half years and the film's shoot, which started on 31 August, was just one week away from completion. Director and co-producer Radford felt he needed to cease production citing the failure of lead co-producers Gheko Films to sign co-production agreements. The Irish production company involved in the project, Subotica, has issued this statement: "We can confirm that, at the moment, shooting has been halted by director Michael Radford, but negotiations are ongoing."...

Filmmaker Michael Radford has been forced to suspend shooting on upcoming movie La Mula a week before it was due to wrap over financial fears.

The Il Postino director announced to his cast and crew he had no choice but to halt the comedy, about the Spanish Civil War, on Saturday.

He cited a lack of funding from producers for the decision, reports Daily Variety.

A number of organisations have invested in the $10.5 million (£6.6 million) project, including the U.K. Film Council and the Irish Film Board, but Radford has been unable to access the money as each financing group must first sign an agreement - and bosses at Gheko Films in Madrid, Spain are said to have thus far refused to do so.

As a result, several crewmembers have yet to receive payment for their efforts.

He explains, "All the co-producers have to sign together a number of agreements. In anticipation of this, I, the crew and the facilities companies started work in good faith. However, Gheko Films has consistently failed to sign these documents for reasons known only to themselves."

Radford is now pushing for his investors to pay up - because he's determined to complete the film: "I have not abandoned the film. I have suspended it and fully intend to go back and finish it. Why would I want to abandon the film after two-and-a-half years' work and one week from the end of a very successful shoot?"

The project features Maria Valverde, Mario Casas and Jesus Carroza.

Filmmaker Michael Radford issued a statement Tuesday to set the record straight about suspending the shooting on his latest directorial outing "La Mula."

Radford took the step to counteract articles in the Spanish press about the project making it appear that he had abandoned the project following a press conference held by Spain's Gheko Films.

Billed as a Spanish Civil War comedy, it details the story of a Spanish muleteer soldier who cares more about his mule than the war and who experiences adventure, tragedy and love before returning to his village at the end of the war.

Radford wrote the screenplay with Juan Eslava Galan, author of the novel on which it is based.

The movie, which attracted backing from the U.K. Film Council and the Irish Film Board, is being produced by Gheko Films and shooting has been suspended six weeks into the scheduled seven week shoot...

• With more coin invested in the film, Michael Radford (most recently directed William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Flawless) is finally receiving the greenlight for his Spanish Civil War comedy. Shooting officially begins on August 31st in Andalusia with Maria Valverde (from Gonzalo López-Gallego's thriller El rey de la montaña, and she top-lined The Anarchist's Wife which played at Sundance) who is, I imagine, a co-lead. La Mula was set to commence shooting exactly the same time over two years ago, but I imagine the budget for the film is perhaps not epic scale Alejandro Amenábar's Agora had their initial investors fighting to get this movie made. Filming in a foreign language is not foreign to Radford, he directed the Italian language money maker Il Postino and he is set to be shooting in Spanish language for La Mula, which is based on the screenplay and book by Juan Eslava Galan.

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