There is a reluctance on ifc’s publicist or whoever is respossible for this letter to deny the personal relationship i have with arianna bocco and jonathan sehring of ifc. They were both at the premiere in cannes and the press conference afterward with gerard, myself and vincente maraval so they are well aware of all the political and artistic issues here. They are sidestepping the issue that they knowingly are distributing an unauthorized version of the film.

“We offered Mr. Ferrara an opportunity to edit his own R-rated version of the film at our expense, but he did not respond.”

There were many emails back and forth and face to face meetings with ifc where i was told they would only distribute the r rated cut that was needed for showtime. That is where it became an issue for the lawyers. The precedent here is, 1, I dont make r rated movies and i certainly would not have pursued this subject matter with gerard depardieu if there were any constrictions to the making or exhibition of it. 2, ifc and wild bunch are both companies that handle unrated films, thats why i am with them. Ifc theatres and their vod outlet is known for there un rated releases, nymphomaniac, blue, 444, etc. As for violence against there theatres those comments were metaphorical, i am an artist and a buddhist so fire bombing theatres is not on my agenda.

“It’s a core mission of IFC Films to support and champion our filmmakers and we regret that Mr. Ferrara has refused to engage with us past slinging mud and insults. We’d have welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with him on the film, if he’d been willing.”

If you support and champion a filmmaker you distribute his movie as he intended not “work closely” in an attempt to change his or her film and by doing so change the politics and message the filmmakers are expressing.

". . . our contract with Wild Bunch (the film’s sales agent) is for an R-rated version."

There is a reluctance on ifc\’s publicist or whoever is respossible for this letter to deny the personal relationship i have with arianna bocco and jonathan sehring of ifc. They were both at the premiere in cannes and the press conference afterward with gerard, myself and vincente maraval so they are well aware of all the political and artistic issues here. They are sidestepping the issue that they knowingly are distributing an unauthorized version of the film.

"We offered Mr. Ferrara an opportunity to edit his own R-rated version of the film at our expense, but he did not respond."

There were many emails back and forth and face to face meetings with ifc where i was told they would only distribute the r rated cut that was needed for showtime. That is where it became an issue for the lawyers. The precedent here is, 1, I dont make r rated movies and i certainly would not have pursued this subject matter with gerard depardieu if there were any constrictions to the making or exhibition of it. 2, ifc and wild bunch are both companies that handle unrated films, thats why i am with them. Ifc theatres and their vod outlet is known for there un rated releases, nymphomaniac, blue, 444, etc. As for violence against there theatres those comments were metaphorical, i am an artist and a buddhist so fire bombing theatres is not on my agenda.

"It’s a core mission of IFC Films to support and champion our filmmakers and we regret that Mr. Ferrara has refused to engage with us past slinging mud and insults. We’d have welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with him on the film, if he’d been willing.”

If you support and champion a filmmaker you distribute his movie as he intended not "work closely" in an attempt to change his or her film and by doing so change the politics and message the filmmakers are expressing.

abel ferrara“At IFC Films, we place high priority on our relationships with filmmakers and want to address the controversy and drama around the film Welcome To New York, which has now expanded beyond the scandalous story depicted in the movie. We want to set the record straight about our role as the U.S. distributor of the film.
. . . our contract with Wild Bunch (the film’s sales agent) is for an R-rated version.
there is a reluctance on ifc\’s publicist or whoever is respossible for this letter to deny the personal relationship i have with arianna bocco and jonathan sehring of ifc. They were both at the premiere in cannes and the press conference with gerard myself and vincente maraval so they are well aware of all the political and artistic issues here. They are sidestepping the issue that they knowingly are distributing an unauthorized version of the film.
We offered Mr. Ferrara an opportunity to edit his own R-rated version of the film at our expense, but he did not respond.
There were many emails back and forth and face to face meetings where i was told they would only distribute the r rated cut that was needed for showtime. That is where it became an issue for the lawyers. The precedent here is one, i dont make r rated movies and i certainly would not have pursued this subject matter with gerard depardieu if there were any constrictions to the exhibition of it. Two, ifc and wild bunch are both companies that handle unrated films, thats why i am with them. Ifc theatres and their vod outlet is known for there un rated releases, nymphomaniac, blue, 444, etc. As for violence against there theatres those comments were metaphorical, i am an artist and a buddhist so fire bombing theatres is not on my agenda.
It’s a core mission of IFC Films to support and champion our filmmakers and we regret that Mr. Ferrara has refused to engage with us past slinging mud and insults. We’d have welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with him on the film, if he’d been willing.”
If you support and champion a filmmaker you distribute his movie as he intended not work closely in an attempt to change the politics and message the filmmakers are expressing.

abel ferrara