Kategorie: News
Film implies free diver killed his wife
On Wednesday, Netflix was sued over the film "No Limit". "No Limit" is a fictionalised film based on a real accident in which it is alleged that a freediver intentionally killed his wife in a diving accident.
The French-language film is based on the true story of Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras and his wife Audrey Mestre-Ferreras (* 11.8.1974; † 12.10.2002). The two were probably the most famous couple in the world of freediving in the early 2000s.
Mestre died in 2002 during a dive attempt to 171m in the Dominican Republic after the sled system - in particular the balloon that was supposed to bring her to the surface - did not work (see also: Investigation protocol on the death of Audrey Mestre released).
The film tells the story of "Pascal Gautier" and "Roxane Aubrey", a fictionalised version of the couple. Gautier is portrayed as abusive and jealous of Aubrey's success. In the final scene, the film strongly implies that Gautier carried out sabotage on the diving sled (on the compressed air cylinder used to fill the balloon) so that "Roxane" had no chance of reaching the surface again.
Lawsuit for defamation filed
"Pipin" Ferreras filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming the film portrays him as a murderer. "I don't know how people can do such a thing," Ferreras said in an interview. "They turned the story around. They portrayed it the way they wanted. That really hurt me."
Ferreras said the makers of "No Limit" did not contact him. He said he saw the film shortly after it was released and had to stop halfway through. Among other things, the film shows Gautier choking Aubrey during sex and how both characters cheat on each other, leading to a confrontation just before the fatal dive.
"As the film went on, I started to suffer and suffer," he said. "Everything was very disturbing. Imagine watching - without knowing it - a film about your life and your history with your late wife, and it surprising you in such a hurtful way..." "They portrayed Audrey as cheating on me," he continued. "She would never have done such a thing, Audrey was an angel."
Since the publication, Ferreras said he has been bombarded with accusatory and sometimes offensive comments on social media.
A work of fiction?
The film contains a disclaimer stating that it is a "work of fiction" and that any resemblance to real people is coincidental. It also states that the film is "inspired by real events". At the end of the film, there is a title card with Mestre's photo and a short account of her death.
Writer-director David M. Rosenthal said in an interview with Variety that the film was vetted by lawyers before it went into production, and he does not believe a lawsuit would be warranted and his film story should be judged under the artistic freedom rule.
"This is the fictionalisation of a story that has been very present in the public domain - from documentaries to many articles and books on the subject," Rosenthal said. "What I have written is fiction, with fictional characters.... I'm sure Ferreras is trying to make money here by suing Netflix."
Netflix released the film in September, and for a few weeks it was the most popular non-English film on the platform.
Limits to artistic freedom
There are several examples where courts had set limits to artistic freedom. Probably the best known example in the German-speaking world is the novel "Esra". Maxim Biller's book was published in 2003. The author recounts in intimate detail the love affair between Ezra and the first-person narrator, the writer Adam. Circumstances of all kinds stand in the way of the love affair: Ezra's family, especially her domineering mother Lale, Ezra's daughter from her first, failed marriage, and, above all, Ezra's passive, fate-surrendering character.
On complaint by the author's former girlfriend and her mother, who recognised themselves in the novel characters Esra and Lale and claimed that the book represented a biography without any significant deviation from reality, the civil courts prohibited the publisher from publishing and distributing the novel. The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the ban.
At the end of 2005, the publisher filed a constitutional complaint against the ban. On 13 June 2007, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the appeal by five votes to three. The reason given was that the novel violated the personal rights of Biller's ex-lover with its detailed description of a love affair. In contrast to previous instances, however, it was emphasised at the same time that the mother of the mistress, who also recognised herself in a character in the novel, had no right to injunctive relief.
The "Ezra" case, which went all the way to the Federal Supreme Court including a constitutional complaint, also shows how complex such cases are to judge. It is impossible to predict in advance which argumentation the court will adopt in the "Audrey Mestre" case.
Two books published on the Audrey Mestre case
Ferreras published a book entitled Tiefenrausch in 2004, in which he describes not only his wife's life story, but also both her passion and total devotion to apnoea diving.
In 2006, Carlos Serras published The Last Attempt: The True Story of Freediving Champion Audrey Mestre And The Mystery of Her Death. In the book, Serras gives a different version of events and writes that Francisco and Audrey were about to divorce. Ferreras is said to have been jealous of his wife and her great successes. Serra makes serious accusations against Ferreras in connection with the accident, alleging that he manipulated his wife's equipment. Serra was also part of the team of Audrey Mestre-Ferreras' last dive and was a former partner of the world record holder.
A "clear and despicable slander"
In a statement, Rufus-Isaacs, Ferreras' lawyer, said the makers of No Limit had committed a "clear and despicable defamation".
"Filmmakers cannot make a film about a real situation and simply change a few names and pass it off as fiction to escape liability for defamation," he said. "I am amazed that the defendants' lawyers have not strongly advised them not to do this. I imagine the jury will award Pipin very substantial damages." Netflix has yet to comment.
See also:
News article 13.Oct 2002: Audrey Mestre killed in record attempt
Forum discussion 20.Feb 2003: Investigation protocol on Audrey Mestre's death released