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A Paris court dismissed a legal challenge by Father Bernard Preynat, whose case had inspired the winner of the Berlin Money Bear, headed by Francois Ozon.
The winner of François Ozon's silver bear in Berlin By the grace of God has crossed a legal obstacle before its planned release Wednesday in France, announced Monday a Parisian court.
The court rejected a legal challenge by Father Bernard Preynat, who wanted to block the planned release of the film in France on February 20th.
The film is inspired by the case against Preynat, charged with sexual assault two years ago and accused of assaulting more than 80 boys. The priest, who denied the charges, said the film undermined his presumption of innocence and would have an unfair impact on his trial. He sued to block the release of the film until the end of his trial, which is expected to take place later this year.
However, the French court rejected his offer, although the film still faces an additional legal challenge that could prevent its scheduled release on February 20th.
The Ozon film, which won the Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival on Sunday night, focuses on the story of three victims, on the consequences of this abuse for their lives for decades and on their fight for justice. Ozon claimed that the film would have no impact on the trial because the facts and much of the film's story have already been published in the press.
"I think the French legal system is powerful enough to withstand the impact of the film," he said before the world premiere of the film in Berlin. "Most people who attack us have not seen the film, so they are attacking us in principle," he added. He adds that he "faces great resistance" in France because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The director changed the names of the victims in the film, with the exception of Preynat, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and Regine Mayor, a church volunteer, sentenced to receive the verdict of March 7 on charges concealment of the aggression. In a separate case heard Monday in Lyon, Mayor filed a lawsuit to remove his name from the film.
At the hearing, Ozon's lawyers and producer Mandarin said that if they had to withdraw his name, it "would mean the death of the film". This decision should be made on Tuesday, February 19th.
Ozon shot most of the film out of France because of the opposition in the city of Lyon. He also stated that CanalPlus had refused funding because of this topic.
The film has already been widely sold in Europe, Canada, Australia, Latin America and Japan.
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