Asgar Farhad: The producer is convinced of the outcome of the plagiarism trial

Asgar Farhad: The producer is convinced of the outcome of the plagiarism trial

According to Hollywood ReporterA Tehran court has indicted multi-award-winning Iranian director Asgar Farhad in connection with the plagiarism of his latest film, A Hero. The filmmaker would take key elements from Azad Masihzadeh’s documentary, All the Winners, All the Losers, one of his former film students.
The case will be transferred to a second judge and the decision can be appealed in the Court of Appeals. The judge may also order a retrial.

Asgar Farhad’s lawyer Kaveh Rad clarified on Tuesday InstagramThat the investigator conducting the case rejected Masihzadeh’s request for a share of the film’s revenue in the event of a guilty verdict.

The lawyer specifies that the decision of the first judge should be “considered as part of the trial” and not as a “last word”.

A Hero, released in our cinemas last December, won the Grand Prix at the last Cannes Film Festival. The film, shot by Amir Jadid, Mohsen Tanabandeh and Fereshteh Sadr Orafay, tells the story of Rahim, a man arrested for a debt he could not repay. During the two-day leave, he tries to persuade the creditor to file a complaint for payment of part of the amount. But everything does not go as planned …

Amir Jadid in the hero

Asgar Farhadi admitted that his film is based on the same true story as All Winners All Losers, Which Masihzade developed as a student in a documentary studio headed by a director.

In an interview with AlloCiné to promote the film in Cannes, the director explained:Eight or nine years ago I taught in a film studio, as I often do. And as a simple educational project, I offered to divide my students into groups of two or three, and I personally shared with them some of these stories that I mentioned in the press. I also asked them to find others and do small subjects in these types of courses.

But, there again did not go beyond the framework of reflection and educational approach. Only later, when I returned from Spain after shooting the film, on my return to Iran, did I tell myself that this concept, this topic that had been on my mind and interested me for years, deserved more attention. “Write a story that has this theme in mind.”
Asgar Farhad claims to have conducted his own research on this true story.

The subject of a documentary film by Mohammad Reza Shokri, a former prisoner, Masihzadeh, claiming that his reputation was damaged by Farhad’s film, another complaint filed by Mohamed Reza Shokri was rejected by the court.

Amir Jadid in the hero

In a statement, Alexander Mallet-Guy from Memento Production, who co-produced Un Héros, said he was confident the court would finally rule in Farhad’s favor. Here is his statement.

“The protagonist is Asgar Farhad’s 8th film, which I released and the 4th, which I produced. last year.

I have absolute confidence in Asgar, who I consider to be one of the most talented and creative directors in the world. The latter reported that one of his former students, who had made the documentary under his supervision, as well as a former prisoner whose story, among other things, was the inspiration for his film, had filed a complaint against him in Iran.

After the false information spread in the press today, I think it is important to clarify the decision made in Iran on March 14, 2022 by the investigating judge regarding the film. The role of the investigating judge is to conduct the investigation, gather evidence and thus decide whether or not to go to court.

His conclusions are as follows:

• He denied allegations that the film had tarnished the former prisoner’s reputation and refused to take those charges to court;

• Rejected Ms. Masihzadeh’s claim for the right to receive income from the film’s exploitation and refused to take this claim to court;

• He decided to take Ms. Masihzadeh’s case to court for copyright infringement on her documentary.

We firmly believe that the court will release Ms. Masihzadeh, who can not claim possession of the facts in the public domain, the story of this prisoner, which was covered in various press articles and television reports years before Ms. Masihzadeh’s documentary was released.

Many Iranian experts have already published their findings on this issue, in favor of all Asgaris.

I think it is important to emphasize here the fact that the protagonist, like Asgar’s previous films, shows difficult situations where the lives of the characters are intertwined.

This former prisoner found a bag of gold coins on the street and returned it to the owner, just a simple starting point for the hero’s conspiracy. The other many branches of this complex plot are the creations of St. Asgar.

Alexander Mallet-Guy – Producer MEMENTO PRODUCTION “

Source: allocine

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