The film centres around a female bullfighter

The maximum fine for the offence is $13,513 (�9,528).

Hable Con Ella - Talk to Her - features Spanish singer Rosario Flores as a female bullfighter.

Almodovar is best known for his film All About My Mother which picked up the best foreign film at the 2000 Oscars.

'Denied'

El Deseo admits four bulls were killed in the bullring at Aranjuez but insists it had the proper permits to carry out the slaughter.

Spokeswoman Paz Sufrategui said: "When we bought the bulls we never denied that it was for shooting a film.

Almodovar has worked with Antonio Banderas on several films

"We haven't done anything illegal.

"The bullfight was conducted in the least painful way possible."

The company added that a pupil from a Madrid bullfighting school was used for the bullfighting scenes.

But animal rights activists are questioning the treatment of the animals.

Animal Amnesty's Matilde Cubillo told the state news agency EFE: "Some people close to the shooting told us that an inexperienced bullfighter had made a slaughter with those animals to shoot the scene of the film."