Gilliam gets green light to release latest film in France

Director Terry Gilliam, fresh from winning a legal battle trying to stop his film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” from being shown at Cannes, on Thursday won approval for its general release in France on May 19.

The country’s National Centre for Cinema (CNC) said it had given its “General Public” approval visa despite a dispute between Gilliam and a former producer for the disaster-plagued film, nearly twenty years in the making.

The Portuguese-born producer Paulo Branco had tried to obtain a court order stopping the film, which features “Star Wars” actor Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce, from being shown at Cannes and released in France.

A French court ruled Wednesday against Branco’s request, meaning the film will be the closing highlight of this year’s Cannes film festival.

Based on that decision, the CNC said “it would be disproportionate to halt the work’s release because of the conflict.”

Paris judges are due to rule next month on a wider case over who owns the rights, and courts in France and Britain have previously sided with Branco in the long-running dispute.

Branco bought the rights for the film in April 2016, before a falling out with Gilliam over artistic differences prompted the director to seek other producers, including the French group Kinology.

Gilliam then finally completed work on the saga at a cost of 16.3 million euros ($19.4 million) between March and June 2017.

The legendary polymath and former Monty Python star, whose films include classics like “Time Bandits” and “Brazil”, reportedly suffered a minor stroke at his London home last weekend but was later released from hospital.