Updated with further details: Georgian anti-Putin drama The Antique, which was due to premiere in Venice parallel section Giornate degli Autori (GdA), has had its screenings suspended following the issuing of an emergency decree on behalf of Russian and Croatian producers claiming copyright issues with the screenplay.
These claims are contested by the film’s Georgian producers and its sales agent MPM International, while the Italian media, which first reported the suspension, is suggesting the move to prevent the film screening is politically motivated.
The drama takes inspiration from the real-life illegal expulsion of thousands of Georgian nationals from Russia in 2006, which included the film’s director Rusudan Glurjidze.
The deportations were part of the so-called 2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy, sparked by Georgia’s arrest of a number of Russian military officers on charges of espionage and terrorism, when Vladimir Putin was in his first term as Russian president.
The GdA (previously known as Venice Days) issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was suspending the first press and industry screening of the film on Wednesday “in agreement” with the Venice Film Festival’s parent body, La Biennale di Venezia Foundation, in the wake of the decree issued by the Court of Venice.
Its statement attempted to tread a fine line between supporting Glurjidze and the film and upholding the judge’s decision.
“We will do whatever is in our power, in observance of the law as well as the freedom of expression of the filmmaker, to support the existence of the work itself and its visibility in Venice over the coming days,” it said.
The decree does not legally prevent the screening of the film, but the Biennale is believed to have asked for the screenings to be suspended while the matter is resolved.
The GdA is an independent section, backed by Italian director associations including Anac and 100autori, but has a cooperative relationship with the Venice Film Festival, which also controls its screening theaters.
Its statement cited the companies calling for the suspension as Moscow-based Viva Film and Cyprus-registered, Limmasol-based Pygmalion Film Productions, which are was both owned by Russian producer Nadezhda Gorshkova, and Croatia’s Zagreb-based Avvantura, which belongs to producer Sergej Stanojkovski.
Per Italian media reports, the decree was issued following a formal petition by the powerful Italian entertainment lawyer Bruno della Ragione and local lawyer Sarah Mosole on behalf of the producers.
It cited “significant violations” by Georgian majority producer Zurab Magalashvili of a co-production agreement between his company Cinetech and Viva, Pygmalion and Avvantura.
The film is being sold internationally by MPM International, the Paris-based sales company created by respected French veteran producer Marie-Pierre Macia.
Contacted by Deadline, MPM International said they had legally acquired the rights to the film from the Georgian producer Magalashvili, who had demonstrated a full chain of rights.
Moves are underway to challenge the decree in the courts so that the film can screen in the GdA competition as planned.
