I’ll take this Iranian court ruling with a major grain of salt, thank you very much.
We all know about the corruption in the Iranian judicial system, kangaroo courts are a daily occurrence in the land of Khomeini. Regardless, it is quite significant that two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi was found guilty of stealing the premise for his new film, “A Hero,” from an earlier non-fiction film, “All Winners All Losers”, made by Azadeh Masihzadeh, a former film student of Farhadi’s.
A second judge will now determine Farhadi’s punishment. In the worst case, the director could be forced to hand over “all income earned by the screening of the film in theaters or online” to Masihzadeh, and could even face time in prison.
Is it plagiarism if it’s based on a real-life event? We all know the Iranian government has been zeroing in on Farhadi these last few years, especially as he’s warmed up more and more to the west.
This story gives me Kiarostami's “Close-Up” vibes.