Plagiarism charge: Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi accused

A second judge will have to rule on the ruling. If he decides that Asghar Farhadi has really infringed his copyright, he can receive an amount equivalent to All revenue generated from showing the movie in theaters or online, his lawyer said. The director could even be sentenced to prison.

However, the judgment of the justice of the peace can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.

a hero It had its world premiere last July at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. The film generated nearly C$3 million in worldwide revenue and Amazon Prime acquired the rights to video-on-demand in North America.

True story

Asghar Farhadi, winner of two Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film – vs. Separationin 2012, and for the customerin 2017 – admit it in the pasta hero Partially inspired by the story being told in All winners, all losers. However, he refuted the accusation of plagiarism, saying that he conducted his research independently for the purposes of his script.

Both films delve into the true ordeals of Mohamed Reza Shoukry, a man imprisoned for unpaid debts who discovers while on vacation a briefcase full of gold coins. Through various twists and turns, he ends up returning the loot to his owner.

But in Farhadi’s film, this gesture is not as virtuous as claims by the Iranian media, which have become infatuated with the issue regardless of the nuances of the complex reality.

Alexandre Mallet-Guy, President of Memento, a French company that co-financed a heroHe defended the director in a press release published on Tuesday: The story of this ex-prisoner who discovers gold in the street and returns it to its owner, was only the starting pointa hero. The rest comes strictly from a smaller creative process.

Three endeavors

The court case revolves arounda hero Three distinct parts. Monday’s indictment stems from a counterclaim filed by Azadeh Masihzadeh against his former mentor. She was responding to a defamation suit brought against her by Asghar Farhadi, which was rejected by the court.

At the same time, Mohamed Reda Shoukry also filed a defamation lawsuit, this time targeting the director who accused him of slandering him with his film. The court also refused to consider this case.

cinema workshop

Asghar Farhadi and Azadeh Masihzadeh met in Tehran in 2014 during a film workshop led by the famous director, The Guardian reports. The Hollywood Reporter In a long paper published last month. Asghar Farhadi asked his students to make a short documentary film on this topic Bring back lost things Drawing inspiration from real-life events drawn from local or national media.

Azadeh Masihzadeh provided an idea for a film based on the story of Mohammad Reza Shoukry, a man residing in Shiraz, his hometown, southwest Iran. His proposal was welcomed by the students as well as by the teacher himself, according to a video he was able to verify The Hollywood Reporter.

The situation took an uncomfortable turn in 2019, however, when Asghar Farhadi was working on pre-production fora hero. Then he called his former student to his office and asked her to sign a document proving that he was the one who had the idea for his documentary. All winners, all losers.

The document in question was presented as evidence during the trial. Azadeh Masihzadeh says he signed it reluctantly. Mr. Farhadi is a great professor of Iranian cinema. He used the power he had on me to make me sign this statementShe said The Hollywood Reporter.

Inspired by Brecht

The lawyer representing the French company Memento, which co-produced and distributed it a heroemphasizing in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Which the director had an idea about a hero Even before he met Azadeh Masih Zadeh.

Mr. Farhadi found inspiration for the main theme of his story – making heroes in a society – after reading two lines in the play. Galileo’s lifeby Bertolt BrechtSophie Borowski said.

When he started designing the script fora heroAsghar Farhadi decided To write and direct a feature film based on a free interpretation of Mr. Shoukry’s story that was published in the media prior to the above-mentioned workshop.The lawyer continued.

completed in 2014, All winners, all losers It was presented four years later at a festival in Shiraz. The documentary has also been available since last November on YouTube.

As for the rest of the judicial procedures, a final judgment can be issued on them Tomorrow, as could be next yearAdvocate Azadeh, Masih Zadeh The Hollywood Reporter.