Cannes Report Day 1: Festival Kicks Off; Sales Already in Swing; Farhadi Denies Plagiarism

Cannes Report Day 1: Festival Kicks Off; Sales Already in Swing; Farhadi Denies Plagiarism No images? [Click here]( ID=167008;size=700x180;setID=564182;uid={EMAIL}5791520;click=cannes_top [- - -] [Awards Beat with Steve Pond] May 17, 2022 Cannes Kicks Off With Asghar Farhadi Denying Plagiarism Charges for ‘A Hero’ Iranian director was found guilty of stealing the idea from a student documentary [- - -] By Brian Welk [Cannes 2022 Jury] Getty Images Welcome back. Cannes is now in its 75th year, and though not one film has screened, it already feels like nothing has changed. The festival kicked off early Tuesday with a chance to meet the 75th competition jury that will select this year’s Palme D’Or as led by French actor Vincent Lindon, and Cannes delegate general Theirry Fremaux met the media a day earlier. Of course it wouldn’t be Cannes without a little taste of media controversy, some drama among auteurs and even a few sales grabbing the spotlight. Tuesday night will see the debut of this year’s opening night film, Michel Hazanvicius’ “Final Cut, which is a French zombie movie satire about the film industry. By that point hopefully the attention will turn back to the actual movies. Asghar Farhadi Denies ‘A Hero’ Plagiarism Charges Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director behind “A Separation,” denied an accusation that he plagiarized his film “A Hero” from a documentary by one of his former students, for which he was recently found guilty of such in a lawsuit. Farhadi, who is a member of this year’s Cannes competition jury, was asked during the press conference about the lawsuit and the plagiarism accusation, and in his first public comments about the matter, said much of the information about the case was incorrect. “Obviously this has created a certain amount of ill feeling, but my film was not based on the documentary,” Farhadi said. “This documentary and my film are simply based on an event that happened 2 years prior to the workshop. When an event takes place and is discovered by the press, then it becomes public knowledge and you can do what you like — you can write a story or make a film about the event without one being a copy of the other.” A court in Iran in [April]( sided with Azadeh Masihzadeh, the director of “All Winners and Losers,” who claimed that after showing the film as part of Farhadi’s 2014 workshop in Tehran, the director stole the premise to her film and did not provide credit to her work. Farhadi initially sued Masihzadeh for defamation, leading to her countersuit for plagiarism and the judge siding with Masihzadeh. Though he has yet to be sentenced, he could be required to share profits for the film, which was released by Amazon in the U.S. last year after first winning the Grand Prix prize at Cannes in 2021. “A suggestion was even made that the earnings of the film be shared between the two of us,” Farhadi also said. “I think the matter will no doubt be cleared up. And I’m sorry it has created so much ill feeling. I hope, however, that this mistaken information that’s been written about this matter will be corrected.” ID=167008;size=300x250;setID=564183;uid={EMAIL}5791520;click=cannes_bottom [R.M.N. Cristian Mungiu Cannes] IFC Films/Dobra Films Cristian Mungiu’s ‘R.M.N.’ Acquired by IFC Films IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to “R.M.N.,” the latest film from Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu ahead of its Cannes debut. Mungiu is the director of the sensational Palme D’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” and “R.M.N.” now marks the fifth collaboration between Mungiu and IFC Films. IFC plans to release “R.M.N.” in theaters later this year. “R.M.N.” is playing in the main competition at Cannes and stars Marin Grigore and Judith State. A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi, left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana, and to rid the boy of the unresolved fears that have taken hold of him. He’s preoccupied with his old father, Otto and also eager to see his ex-lover, Csilla (Judith State). When a few new workers are hired at the small factory that Csilla manages, the peace of the community is disturbed, underlying fears grip the adults, and frustrations, conflicts and passions erupt through the thin veneer of apparent understanding and calm. Read more [here](. Thierry Fremaux Says Diversity Goal ‘Takes Time’ In meeting the press on Monday, Cannes general delegate Thierry Fremaux said that meeting the festival’s previously stated goals for diversity “takes time,” referring to the near absence of Black filmmakers and a disappointing showing for female directors. “It takes time for cinema to come into its own,” Fremaux specifically said (via [Screen Daily]() about the lack of sub-Saharan African filmmakers, though the Un Certain Regard section will open with “Father & Soldier,” a French and Senegalese co-production. “It isn’t just one edition; it takes five years, it takes a decade.” Fremaux did champion roughly 25% of the films in competition being directed by women, as well as a large number of female directors in the film’s French film section, though only a handful of those are in the main bar competition. He cited in his defense that only 25% of the submissions to this year’s Cannes came from female directors but did agree to put quotas in place specifically for Cannes’ student short competition slate (previously called Cinefondation). Bleecker Street Acquires Frances O’Connor’s ‘Emily’ With Emma Mackey In a sign of distributors keeping busy at Cannes, Bleecker Street acquired the U.S. rights to “Emily,” the debut film from writer, director and actress Frances O’Connor that will star Emma Mackey. “Emily” is not playing at the festival but was being presented to buyers at the Marché du Film, and it’s a biopic about writer Emily Brontë’s own romantic story ahead of her writing the classic “Wuthering Heights.” Bleecker Street is planning a 2023 theatrical release. Warner Bros. will release the film wide throughout UK cinemas. “Sex Education” star Mackey leads a cast that also includes Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Amelia Gething, Gemma Jones and Adrian Dunbar. “Emily” is produced by Piers Tempest. David Barron and with Robert Connolly and Robert Patterson of Arenamedia. Peter Touche is an executive producer for Ingenious who provided funding. The acquisition was negotiated by Bleecker Street’s Head of Acquisitions, Kent Sanderson with Avy Eschenasy on behalf of Bleecker Street alongside Embankment, who serve as Executive Producers and are handling global sales. [- - -] [Follow us on Facebook]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Follow us on Instagram]( [Follow us on Linkedin]( TheWrap 1808 Stanford Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90404 [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you are no longer interested you can [unsubscribe instantly](.