Cannes Says “Cinema Has Regained Its Rights” In Response To ‘Don Quixote’ Ruling

Terry Gilliam fans, it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief, and at least allow yourself to be hopeful, for once, about his upcoming film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” As we reported yesterday, a judge ruled that ‘Don Quixote’ would be allowed to screen as the closing film of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And now, the folks at Cannes have released a statement about the case, and they couldn’t be happier.

Speaking about the legal matter, brought to a judge by ex-producer Paulo Branco, who claims to own the rights to ‘Don Quixote,’ Cannes said, in a statement, “The campaign of attempted intimidation orchestrated by Paulo Branco and his lawyer son have therefore proved fruitless.” This is in response to Branco’s repeated comments about how Cannes and Gilliam are breaking the law by showing the film without Branco being compensated as the rights-holder.

“The Festival de Cannes, which throughout the case has repeatedly expressed its loyalty and support for the creators, is pleased to see that justice will allow the presentation of this work, whose director surely deserves to see it finally presented to the public,” the statement continues.

Cannes is surely right about that. “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is a film that has been in production, in one way or another, for over 25 years. As is well-documented, the production saw delays, cancelations, and just about every bit of bad luck a film could receive. Gilliam, however, is the most persistent man in the world and is about to unleash the film on the public.

The statement concludes, “Since Tuesday, cinema has regained its rights. The Festival is a unique forum for freedom of expression. It will remain so.”

Make sure to keep an eye out for our review of the film after the premiere, and obviously any news about distribution (considering Amazon dropped the film earlier this week) in the coming days.