It has been six years since Woody Allen had a movie launched in the United States, however the Venice Film Festival was nonetheless desirous to roll out the pink carpet for the 87-year-old director’s newest effort. However, not everybody there welcomed the filmmaker with open arms.

On Monday, his new movie, “Coup de Chance,” debuted in Venice and earned the several-minute standing ovation that’s customary at most pageant premieres. Outside the screening, although, protesters reportedly took off their shirts and handed out sheets of paper urging the pageant to “turn the spotlight off of rapists.”

Allen, who has, for many years, denied sexual abuse accusations by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, will not be the solely director at Venice amid controversy. Earlier this week, the pageant premiered “Dogman” from Luc Besson, who was accused of sexual assault however cleared by prosecutors in 2019, in addition to “The Palace” from Roman Polanski, who was convicted in 1977 of illegal intercourse with a minor however fled the U.S. earlier than he may very well be sentenced.

“Coup de Chance” is Allen’s fiftieth movie and his first French-language effort. Starring Lou de Laâge and Melvil Poupaud, it’s a Paris-set dramatic thriller a couple of married girl who reconnects with an previous flame, which drives her possessive husband to ideas of homicide.

The Variety critic Owen Gleiberman referred to as “Coup de Chance” Allen’s finest movie since “Blue Jasmine” in 2013, however like his final two movies, “Rifkin’s Festival” and “A Rainy Day in New York,” it at the moment has no U.S. distribution. The final Allen movie to be launched stateside was the 2017 drama “Wonder Wheel,” starring Kate Winslet.

In an interview with Variety this week, Allen was requested once more about the Dylan Farrow allegations. “My reaction has always been the same,” he replied. “The situation has been investigated by two people, two major bodies, not people, but two major investigative bodies. And both, after long detailed investigations, concluded there was no merit to these charges.”

In the similar interview, Allen intimated that he had thought-about retiring after “Coup de Chance,” since he not desires to undergo the strategy of elevating cash to finance his movies. Still, he famous: “I don’t know what it means to be canceled. I know that over the years everything has been the same for me. I make my movies.”