Turkish director Andaç Haznedaroğlu has filed a lawsuit for intellectual property violations and fraud against Lebanese actress and film director Nadine Labaki and producer Khaled Mouzanar for “Capernaum.”
Labaki and Mouzanar are being sued for the resemblances of their movie to Andaçoğlu’s film “Misafir” (“The Guest”). “Capernaum” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or and won the Jury Prize. The movie revolves around the story of a poor teenage boy in Beirut's suburb.
Haznedaroğlu’s “The Guest,” starring Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak, came out in 2017. The movie, which debuted at Turkey’s Antalya Film Festival, is about the journey of a little girl called Lena who flees from the war in Syria to Istanbul. It draws great attention to the Syrian refugee crisis.
According to allegations of Haznedaroğlu, she met Labaki in Lebanon before she started to shoot her movie. The director shared the script with her for a potential future collaboration. She wanted her to take part in the movie as an actress and also be a co-producer. The director said: “Labaki liked the screenplay very much. After that, however, I heard nothing from her for a long time; the whole communication between us was cut out. Then, I thought maybe she has her own ongoing projects and began my filming with Mubarak.”
Noting that she finished the filming of “The Guest” in 2017, the director said that she recognized the similarities between her film and “Capernaum” after some journalists mentioned them to her. After watching Labaki’s movie, Haznedaroğlu left the hall in tears and decided to seek her legal rights, according to the director.
Stating that she believes in the judicial system in Lebanon, Haznedaroğlu added that the striking similarities in the screenplays will attract attention and generate reactions everywhere. All I expect from the Lebanese court is fairness and justice.”
