Welcome to New York (2014 film)

Plot

In the film, the character Devereaux is closely based on French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It tells the story of a powerful man, a possible candidate for the Presidency of France, who lives a life of debauchery and is arrested after being accused of raping a maid at his hotel.

Cast

Reception and lawsuit

Following its release (to mixed reviews varying from high praise to outright disgust), Strauss-Kahn said he would sue for slander. His lawyer also complained the portrayal of his then-wife Anne Sinclair as anti-Semitic.

Ferrara, in a series of interviews with Indiewire, The Hollywood Reporter and other publications between September 2014 and March 2015, claimed that his distributor, Vincent Maraval of Wild Bunch, sold an unauthorized R-rated version of the film to IFC Films, for distribution in the US (the R-rated cut had already been released on Blu-Ray and VOD in various European countries). Maraval subsequently fired back that Ferrara had agreed on the R-rated cut to receive more financing for the film and had also contractually consented to lose final cut of the R-rated version if he did not deliver one by a certain date. Ferrara then stated his intent to send a cease-and-desist letter to Maraval and IFC, which issued its own statement also claiming that it had given Ferrara the chance to deliver his own R-rated cut for theatrical showings in the US, which he declined to do. As of March 27, the R-rated cut has only been shown at one American theaterthe Roxie in San Franciscothough it is available in the US on VOD and IFC has stated it intends to show it at additional theaters.