Terry Gilliam Loses His ‘Don Quixote’ Court Case And No Longer Holds The Rights To The Film

We’re only weeks removed from the triumphant Cannes premiere of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” After 25 years of setbacks, the filmmaker finally was able to screen his film for an audience and have a release in France. But all the while, there’s been this pesky court case looming over his head. And with the most recent ruling, it appears that all the fanfare and celebration will be short-lived. You see, Terry Gilliam no longer has the rights to the film he spent decades working on.

Yesterday, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that ex-producer Paulo Branco is indeed the owner of the rights, and Terry Gilliam’s film belongs to him. What does this mean for the future of the film? It’s still up in the air. Of course, the film has been released in France, and was seeking US and international distribution, but now that all seems to be put on hold, while Gilliam and Branco continue their war.

READ MORE: Terry Gilliam Fully Explains The Drama Regarding The Rights To ‘Don Quixote’

“The ruling means that the rights to the film belong to Alfama. Any exploitation of the film up until now has been completely illegal and without the authorization of Alfama,” said Branco, in an interview with Screen Daily. “We will be seeking damages with interest from all the people involved in this illegal production and above all, all those who were complicit in its illegal exploitation. We’re holding everyone responsible.”

As mentioned in that statement, Branco now is going to seek damages from Gilliam, Kinology (the Paris-based sales company and producer of the film), Ocean Films, and yes, even the Cannes Film Festival.

“The film belongs in its entirety to Alfama. The film was made illegally. It’s the first time, I’ve ever seen so many people embark on a mission to produce and exploit a film, without holding the rights. It’s a unique case,” continued Branco.

Branco’s son and lawyer, Juan Branco, specifically called out Thierry Frémaux, the Cannes boss, saying, “For me, this is very important because I spoke out publicly about this case with determination and also given the cynicism with which the establishment, Thierry Frémaux and [Minister of Culture] Francoise Nyssen – in a shameful conflict of interests for the latter, responded.”

READ MORE: Terry Gilliam’s Cursed ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ Is Real And Surprisingly Not A Complete Mess [Cannes Review]

For those who haven’t been following the case through our myriad of articles leading up to the Cannes premiere, Branco claims that a contract he wrote up with Gilliam is still valid. In the contract, Gilliam exchanges the rights to “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” for the promise of funding for the production. However, Gilliam claims that funding never came and he went to seek out a separate financier, and in turn, was able to finally produce the film. Branco says that the contract is still valid and everything Gilliam did after that contract was signed is in violation. That includes the production of the film, the deals sought with distributors, the premiere at Cannes, and the subsequent French release. And now, the courts seem to agree with Branco.

As far as what this means for the future, it’s unclear. As of now, Branco owns the rights and can negotiate his own deals for distribution. However, does this mean that Gilliam (as well as the cast) will promote the film for Branco? Unlikely. Will Branco go after large sums of money for what he deems were illegal activities? Probably. The drama surrounding this film is clearly far from over.

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

What is known for sure is that those of us outside of France, hoping to see “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” sometime in the near future, will have to wait a while before that happens. If that happens. And for Gilliam, it means that his passion project, that took the better part of three decades to come to fruition, is now the property of someone else. And judging by the comments, that person isn’t going to let Gilliam rest anytime soon.