Asghar Farhadi, the acclaimed director, has been cleared by an Iranian court of plagiarism claims related to his film “A Hero.” The accusations stemmed from his former student claiming he stole the idea for the movie.
The court verdict, supported by copyright law experts, dismissed the allegations against Farhadi, declaring them baseless. Farhadi was accused of taking inspiration from a documentary made by his student during a workshop.
“A Hero” won recognition at the Cannes Film Festival and was Iran’s submission for the Academy Awards’ international feature film category. The film tells the story of a man named Rahim and his seemingly simple act of returning a lost handbag.
Farhadi, who left Iran in 2023 amidst protests, has been working on a new film in Los Angeles and Europe. The court emphasized that creating art inspired by real events is permissible as they are part of the public domain, therefore not limited by copyright.
The verdict outlined that Farhadi’s film significantly differs from the documentary and real events in terms of storytelling, structure, and creative elements. This ruling brings an end to the legal dispute surrounding the plagiarism allegations.
