Netflix sued for film that implies record-setting diver killed his wife

nypost.com:

according to the official complaint. “The film is a thinly veiled account of the events surrounding the death by drowning of Ferreras’ wife, Audrey Anne Marie Mestre Ferreras,” reads the document. “Netflix, Nolita and Rosenthal made a deliberate decision for dramatic purposes to defame Ferreras by showing in the film that he murdered Audrey by intentionally sabotaging the equipment that should have brought her back to the surface after a world record dive of 561 feet.” “In reality, Audrey’s death was an accident and Ferreras risked his life in a vain attempt to save her.” The lawsuit is chiefly concerned with a scene at the end of the French film in which the actor who portrayed Ferreras is seen checking out his wife’s equipment before the screen fades to black — thus suggesting that he may be responsible for sabotaging Mestre’s fateful final dive.The film, purportedly “inspired by real events,” quickly rose to the top of Netflix’s most-watched non-English films upon release.A disclaimer notes that the “film remains a work of fiction.

Any resemblance with reality is coincidental.”The Post has reached out to Netflix, Nolita, Rosenthal and Ferreras for comment.

On Oct. 12, 2002, the free-diving duo was attempting to break the previous 520-foot “no-limits” world record when Mestre’s oxygen supply ran out upon reaching her target depth of 561 feet.

Ferreras dove in to rescue his wife, who passed out underwater. She died shortly after they returned to the surface.According to experts and eyewitnesses featured in the 2013 ESPN documentary “Audrey Mestre: The Truth Behind the Deep,” the planned dive allegedly lacked the sort of safety protocol and first responder presence that would be typical of such a feat.