Since November 2021, a dispute has pitted Thierry Michel against the Balufu brothers, who accuse him of ” counterfeiting and plagiarism for his film The Empire of Silence, where the Belgian director denounces the impunity of crimes committed in the Congo. A conviction by the Congolese courts would result in the seizure and prohibition of the film and its imprisonment. Thierry Michel has always refuted the accusations.
” This is not the business of Thierry Michel and (the brothers) Balufu! “, gets carried away this week the director of The Empire of Silence at a press conference in Brussels. For him, the lawsuit against his documentary is above all an attack on the freedom of the press. ” The Congolese must know their history! »
The film which unleashes the Congolese chronicle, recounts the war crimes which, for two decades, have bereaved the Democratic Republic of Congo. Above all, it shows that instead of being judged, war criminals are rewarded, and calls for justice to put an end to impunity.
But according to Gilbert Balufu Mbaye and Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, the documentary by Thierry Michel and his producer Christine Pireaux would be directly inspired by their story entitled Congo! The silence of forgotten crimesreleased in 2015.
similarities and lies
” We saw Congo! The silence of crimes forgotten togetherwith Thierry Michel, who split in congratulations “, tells RFI Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, specifying that he had even given the Belgian director a copy of the film. ” When we saw his film screened in Kinshasa, in November 2021, we noticed similarities with ours “, he adds.
Congolese filmmakers claim to have identified “ 80 comparison items ” with their work, described as rather “ brave by Thierry Michel, who however rejects all accusations of plagiarism and counterfeiting.
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” I don’t understand. We are making such a malicious defamatory campaign of a film they have already seen during the screening at the People’s Palace. We are in the realm of lies “says the Belgian director.
Among these ” lies “, the one according to which The Empire of Silence would do the propaganda of doctor Denis Mukwege, accused by the Balufu brothers of wanting “ destabilize Congolese society “, relates Thierry Michel, who filed a complaint for defamation in Belgium and the DRC. The Belgian director also points out that his trial comes at a time when the Nobel Peace Prize winner is relaunching his plea against impunity in the DRC.
What does the Balufu brothers’ complaint say?
The complaint filed by the Balufu brothers accuses the author of The Empire of Silence of infringing copyright of a cinematographic work by reproducing it without authorization “. Thierry Michel and Christine Pireaux are also accused of “ theft and rape of the Congolese imagination “.
“ When you appropriate the imagination of others and make it your own, we are in theft of the imagination “Judge Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda. The person who organized the restitution of Patrice Lumumba’s remains at the end of June maintains that ” the Congolese fight is our fight », and accuses Thierry Michel of engaging in cultural appropriation.
However, the Belgian director’s film is the latest in a series of documentaries made during his thirty years traveling in the Congo.
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“No trace of plagiarism”
An analysis of the two films made by the specialized firm Engelbert, for the international society of authors SCAM, established that Thierry Michel ” has not exceeded the visual ethical rules sums up Frédéric Young, SCAM’s General Delegate for Belgium.
“ The opinion of the independent expert, who is an eminent figure on the subject in Belgium, was very clear: he saw no trace of plagiarism in the work of Thierry Michel “, he explains to RFI.
The document further recalls that a common theme ” does not entail any rights or special protection “. In other words, it is not because two films deal with the same subject that we can speak of plagiarism.
Differences in treatment
Only four common sequences were identified: these are archive images from the French press agency Capa that the Balufu brothers allegedly used without authorization, according to the study by the Belgian law firm Engelbert.
” I don’t know if they disagree with the analysis of historical facts “, continues Frédéric Young of the SCAM. For example, the Balufu brothers’ film goes further in denouncing Rwanda and Uganda, holding both countries responsible for crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
” I think that the case is more, according to our expert, a political debate between two authors than a copyright debate. concludes Young. Asked about the comparisons made by the independent expert, Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda indicates that he rejects the conclusions of experts that he does not recognize.
A political affair?
For Thierry Michel, the real motive of the agitation around his film is to prevent it from being broadcast. ” It is clear that this film annoys some “, declares the director to RFI. ” He denounced unpunished, unrecognized crimes (….) of the Congolese tragedy. In this film, the victims quote alleged criminals who will undoubtedly one day have to account for their actions. It is clear that this film annoys these people. »
The Balufu brothers, they deny any political maneuver. “ We don’t do politics insists Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda. “ It is a matter of suspicion of plagiarism and counterfeiting. We simply ask Mr. Michel to give us a copy of his film so that we can organize comparison sessions which will be public. He refused, that’s why we went to court “Adds the Congolese filmmaker, denying any desire to ban Thierry Michel’s film.
►Read also: DRC: the directors of “The Empire of Silence” denounce a “gag” trial
An argument that does not really convince the Belgian filmmaker. “ They backpedal “, he asserts. ” When there is a conflict between two authors, it is always civil that it is resolved. »
” The fact that the procedure is criminal, aiming for a prison sentence, which is a first in my life, but also in the history of cinema to see a filmmaker who tries to imprison another filmmaker, the fact that this either criminal, it seems that it can be enforceable “, adds Thierry Michel.
The fear of arrest
The Belgian director returned to the Congolese capital this Friday for the start of a broadcast tour of his film in several provinces of the DRC, including South Kivu. It is in Bukavu, in this province in the east of the country, ravaged by war, that he will screen his film on Tuesday August 30, the day of the opening of the trial before the Kinshasa court. He emphasizes the risk to which he exposes himself in the event of an indictment. ” The judge can decide on the spot to apply the sentence, and there, I will be immediately arrested “, he confides to RFI.
With his colleague Christine Pireaux, he faces a sentence of up to five years in prison. Despite the risks, Thierry Michel remains calm: “ They have no evidence to ban this film and I hope that Congolese justice will not be arbitrary. »
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