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In 2021 Asghar Farhadi was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for »A Hero« in Cannes.
Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images
It could be the story of an Asghar Farhadi film, a story about delicate balances of power, moral misconduct and the peculiarities of Iranian criminal law: one of his former students is suing the Iranian star director Farhadi because he lost essential parts of his new film A Hero Honor of Mr. Soltani” is said to have been taken from a documentary film that the student made under his guidance during a workshop in Tehran in 2014.
If found guilty, Farhadi would have to cede any profits he made from the film to a former student named Azadeh Masihzadeh.
Farhadi, in turn, is suing Masihzadeh for defamation.
If found guilty, she would be jailed for up to two years and likely flogged.
The verdicts are now available in both cases: US media reported on Monday that Masihzadeh was acquitted of the charge of defamation.
The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that Farhadi had been found guilty of plagiarism.
No appeal can be lodged against the judgment.
However, the sentence has not yet been determined.
According to forecasts by industry services, Farhadi will have to cede his earnings of around US$2.5 million from »A Hero« to Masihzadeh.
In her documentary »All Winners, All Losers«, which premiered in Iran in 2018, Masihzadeh takes up the story of a man who is in prison because of his debts, finds a bag full of gold coins while on leave and tries to return them to the rightful owner .
According to Masihzadeh, she presented the idea for the film, which goes back to reports in a local Iranian newspaper, during the workshop with Farhadi.
unforeseeable consequences
Farhadi's feature film »A Hero«, which has been in German cinemas since last week, also tells the story of a debtor who unexpectedly comes into possession of a bag full of gold coins while on leave and, after a few mistakes, tries to return the coins to the rightful owner.
»A Hero« celebrated its world premiere in Cannes 2021 and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize there.
Iran designated the film as an Oscar submission.
In contrast to his films "Nader und Simin" and "The Salesman", for which Farhadi was awarded the Oscar for the best non-English language film, "A Hero" received no nomination.
How the conviction will affect Farhadi's reputation and status in Iran's cultural industry is yet to be seen.
Because of his numerous awards, the 49-year-old is considered the best-known and most successful director in his country.
He has also shot in Europe with stars such as Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardém and Tahar Ramin.
At the same time, he has repeatedly been the subject of controversy over his possible closeness to the Iranian government.
Most recently, Farhadi had been clearly critical of the country's official politics and called on the government to withdraw "A Hero" as a national Oscar entry if its political appropriation was intended.
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