Free diver Francisco “Pipín” Ferreras is suing Netflix over the 2022 French film No Limit. Ferreras claims the movie defamed him by suggesting he killed his wife, Audrey Mestre. He also listed the film’s director, David M. Rosenthal, and its production company Nolita Cinéma. Mestre, also a free diver, died in 2002 after an air balloon that was supposed to rapidly lift her to the water’s surface failed in the Dominican Republic. She was 28.
Ferreras is suing the defendants for defamation per se and false light invasion of privacy, according to the legal complaint filed Wednesday. He claims No Limit is a “thinly veiled account of the events surrounding the death by drowning of Ferreras’ wife.” The movie was released on Netflix globally in September 2022 and stars Camille Rowe and Sofiane Zermani. It was billed as being inspired by true events and was among the most-watched non-English language titles on Netflix in the weeks after its release.
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No Limit centers on free divers Roxane Aubrey (Rowe) and Pascal Gautier (Zermani), free divers in an abusive relationship, reports Entertainment Weekly. Toward the end of the movie, Pascal checks Roxanne’s air tank before a dive, even though it had already been checked. Viewers are led to consider that Pascal sabotaged the tank so she wouldn’t have enough air to return to the surface.
Netflix and the filmmakers “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 171 Meters (561 feet),” Ferreras claims in the lawsuit. However, Ferreras notes that Mestre’s death “was an accident” and he “risked his life” in an attempt to save her, the lawsuit reads. Ferreras also notes that the movie includes a photo of Mestre at the end and makes a reference to her death, even though No Limit presents “itself as a fictional work.” The diver also points out there are a “large number of striking similarities” between reality and the story of the film, except for the “defamatory accusation” that Ferreras killed his wife.
“Thus, there can be no question that this defamatory statement is ‘of and concerning’ Ferreras,” the lawsuit reads. “This is further evidenced by the fact that many viewers reasonably concluded that Ferreras behaved in real life in the same way that the Gautier character behaves in the Film.” Ferreras also claims he faced “online abuse” from viewers who thought he murdered Mestre. “For Defendants to besmirch the reputation of a man who has had to live with the grief of losing his wife in such tragic circumstances is both cruel and highly offensive,” the lawsuit alleges.
No Limit does end with a picture of Mestre, and the movie is dedicated to her memory. “Audrey tragically died on October 12, 2002, in the Dominican Republic while attempting to beat the world record at 171 meters,” a second card reads. There is also a disclaimer in the credits reading, “This film remains a work of fiction. Any resemblance with reality is coincidental.”
Ferreras is asking for a trial by jury, and seeking actual and presumed damages, punitive damages, and legal fees. He also asked for “temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief, restraining and enjoining Defendants, their agents, and all persons acting in concert with them.” He wants any perceived hints that he killed his wife removed from the film.
Netflix has not commented on the lawsuit, but Rosenthal told Variety that lawyers cleared the script before filming began. “This is a fictionalization of stories that were very much on the public eye – from documentaries to many articles and books about this,” Rosenthal said. “What I wrote is fiction, with fictional characters…I’m sure he’s trying to make a buck here by suing Netflix.”
