Last week, the Netflix thriller In the Waters of the Seine fought its way to the top of the streaming service’s charts. But it’s not all rosy for the production team. For months, the French film has been accompanied by an accusation in its home country: that the Story was stolen without mentioning the creator.
Plagiarism accusation against Netflix: The story resembles a project by Vincent Dietschy
The author of the accusation is the author and director Vincent Dietschy, who presented his version of events in a report by Le Monde.
Dietschy began working on a project called Silure, which means “catfish,” in 2011. The idea for the planned film is recorded in documents from 2014 and reads as follows:
A young policewoman working as a diver with the Paris River Brigade is confronted with a new natural phenomenon caused by a gigantic, terribly aggressive and murderous catfish As the monster sends panic through the capital and threatens the mayor’s policies just days before the decision on which city will host the Olympic Games, the heroine is on the front line to confront this new figure of evil. In her fight, she is supported by a young ichthyologist from the CNRS and at the same time becomes closer to her superior, the Commandant.
The official synopsis of In the Waters of the Seine, however, reads as follows:
It is the summer of 2024 and Paris is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from the young environmental activist Mika that a huge shark lurks in the depths of the riverIf they want to prevent a bloodbath in the heart of the city, they will have no choice but to work with the head of the river brigade of the Paris police, Adil.
Watch the trailer for the Netflix thriller:
In the Waters of the Seine – Trailer (German) HD
The story of In the Waters of the Seine has parallels to Silure. In Xavier Gens’ film, however, the subject is a shark and the heroine is not a police officer, but a scientist. The following parallels exist:
The filmmaker wants to prevent the broadcast of In the Water of the Seine
According to Dietschy, he was unable to find any financing options for Silure. The script was not fully developed. In 2022, he learned about the Netflix project with the working title Sharks, which became In the Waters of the Seine. After several attempts to contact Dietschy, he decided to take legal action.
He submitted a Lawsuit for unfair competition against the producers and an agent. He is also seeking a procedure that would block the broadcast of the film until a verdict has been reached, as Le Monde reports.
The next step is a hearing on 14 Junereports Nice-Matin .
The makers of the Netflix thriller deny the allegations
Producer Edouard Duprey denied the allegations to Le Monde:
I don’t know this gentleman. I have never read or seen his project… There is nothing there!
Director Xavier Gens, who was involved in the script, told Nice-Matin that such accusations are a constant:
[Dietschy] is someone who had the idea for a screenplay. We made a film. We really racked our brains to make it believable and we managed it. But I think [die anderen] didn’t even write a page. So it’s easy to say I had the idea. That happens all the time. I feel like it’s becoming a cliche.
The next few weeks will show how the lawsuit progresses. In the Waters of the Seine is still available in Netflix’s catalog.