IMF前總裁卡恩將起訴戛納電影影射性侵門

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has instructed lawyers to sue the makers of a movie in which veteran French star Gerard Depardieu plays a sex addict who commits a sexual assault on a hotel maid, his lawyer said on Monday.

"Welcome to New York" by Abel Ferrara, which had a private screening on the sidelines of the Cannes film festival at the weekend and has been on pay-per-view in France, is billed as a piece of fiction and comes with a legal disclaimer.

But Strauss-Kahn's lawyer said the film was defamatory in that its subject matter was similar to the accusations leveled against Strauss-Kahn, who quit the Washington-based International Monetary Fund in 2011 after a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault.

Strauss-Kahn settled a civil case taken by the maid after criminal charges were dropped.

"This happened three years ago and he was cleared," lawyer Jean Veil told Europe 1 radio on Monday.

"He is frightened, sickened (by the film). He has instructed his lawyers, myself, to make a complaint for defamation based on accusations of rape, on the insinuations made throughout this film."

Interviewed by Reuters TV in Cannes, fimlmaker Ferrara said the film was fiction and that he had the right to choose his subjects.

"I’m not on trial," Ferrara said. "I’m an artist, I have freedom of speech. I’m from America I’m from the country of the free, land of the free and home of the brave.

The film begins with an extended sex-party scene before the encounter between the main character, George Devereau, and a maid. Throughout the over 20-minute scene, Depardieu appears naked and flits from one bacchanalian encounter to another.

Reporters the screening were handed a gift bag containing condoms and Viagra.

Trade publication Variety called the film in a review "a sure-fire scandal-starter in France" and said the "audacious performance (from Depardieu) is undeniably the pic's chief selling point," a view shared by most critics.

Films that are not competing in the official 12-day film festival at Cannes often hold screenings nonetheless in order to gain publicity. Following the "Welcome to New York" screening, the film was made available throughout France on pay-per-view.據其律師5月19日稱，國際貨幣基金組織前總裁多米尼克·斯特勞斯·卡恩將起訴影片《歡迎到紐約來》的製片方。這部影片於今年法國戛納國際電影節期間正式亮相。影片中，法國老牌影星傑拉德·德帕迪約飾演一個有性癮的人，這個角色對賓館招待進行了性侵犯。

《歡迎來紐約》是阿貝爾·費拉拉的作品，影片將於5月17日以在互聯網上付費“視頻點播”的方式正式亮相。這部電影被認爲是虛構作品，有免責聲明。

然而，卡恩的律師稱，這部電影存在誹謗，因爲電影中的性侵和卡恩當年面臨的起訴內容如出一轍。2011年，一名女招待指控卡恩性侵，此後他辭去了國際貨幣基金組織的工作。

針對卡恩的刑事指控未能成立，卡恩和女招待又因民事案件對簿公堂。

“這件事就發生在三年前，他很清楚。”5月19日，律師吉恩·威爾在法國歐洲第一電臺這樣說。“他（被電影弄得）又心慌又噁心，已經讓律師——也就是我——提起起訴，因爲整部電影的內容都在誹謗他性侵。”

費拉拉在戛納接受了路透社的電視採訪，他說電影是虛構的，他有權利選擇這個題材。

“我不是審案的，”費拉拉說，“我是個藝術家，我有言論自由。我來自自由的美國，自由之國，英勇之地。”

電影的開頭是很長的一段性聚會場面，這時主角喬治·迪微瑞爾（George Devereau）和女招待還沒有相遇。在整個20分鐘的場景中，德帕迪約赤裸出鏡，在放縱地和很多人相會。

看片記者都收到了裝在袋子裏的小禮物——避孕套和偉哥。

行業出版物Variety在評論中稱這部電影“在法國爲醜聞煽風點火”。有批評家說，“（德帕迪約）露骨的表演無疑是這部片子的首要買點。”

有些電影即便不參加戛納電影節正式的12天角逐，也會通過放映贏得公衆的關注。在放映之後，《歡迎來紐約》在法國就有了有償點播服務。