The daughter of world-renowned heart surgeon Dr Christiaan Barnard says the production company making a film about her father’s life “misrepresented” the project when they asked for her help.
Deirdre Visser, a published author, says Karoo Films had also not approached the trustees of the Chris Barnard Trust to request the rights to her father’s story.
Since Monday, Karoo films had been punting its biographic feature film about Barnard in numerous print publications and websites.
But Visser revealed the film-makers, who interviewed her this month, misrepresented themselves, saying they were creating a documentary, with no mention of a feature film.
According to Monday’s press release announcing Barnard, the seemingly well-intentioned film aimed to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Barnard’s landmark surgery, at which he performed the world’s first heart transplant.
“The story of Barnard’s success is the stuff of legend. Fighting an uphill battle against the apartheid regime, ethical questions over the time of donor death, and a comparatively under-equipped hospital, Barnard performed the successful operation against all odds,” the release read.
Karoo Films, through its chief executive, Diony Kempen, said the filming was set to start in September, with casting already under way. The company said it had already secured worldwide distribution through a London-based company, as well as a domestic release through a local theatrical movie distributor.
Producer and writer, Robert dos Santos, told the Saturday Star this week the film had been a four-year project finally coming to fruition, with his team spending that time conducting interviews with Barnard’s colleagues, friends and anyone linked to the surgery.
Director Byron Davis also mentioned the group’s interview with Visser as part of the research.
The company had also secured footage from the Transplant museum at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, where the transplant surgery took place.
However, Visser said she only found out about the film in a newspaper.
According to Visser, when Dos Santos arrived for his interview with her a few weeks ago, there was no mention of a feature film or the production company involved.
“They told me it was for a documentary. He wanted me to sign something, but I didn't. They apparently thought they only needed my permission,” she said.
However, Visser said if Karoo Films wanted the rights to the Barnard story, they would have had to get signatures from the three trustees of the board, including herself, and as far as she knew, none of them had been approached.
“An American company tried to do the same thing a few years ago but they would not pay for the rights, so it didn’t happen,” she said.
While not angry about the alleged misrepresentation, Visser said she was disappointed in herself for being “too gullible and trusting”. She described Dos Santos as “a lovely guy”, and said he had been in touch with her since the interview.
But she said the board of trustees had decided to get lawyers to look into the matter and resolve it. She insisted she was not taking legal action against Karoo Films, and this was only to gather the correct information about the project.
Dos Santos said yesterday the story remained in the public domain, and the writers would only need the permission of the Barnards if they were adapting the surgeon’s autobiography, One Life. He said Barnard was researched separately, and was not based on any of the books already written on the surgeon.
Regarding the alleged misrepresentation, Dos Santos said a documentary was being made simultaneously with the feature film and Visser had agreed to have her interviews used in the documentary.
He insisted that there was absolutely no misrepresentation, and such claims were a misunderstanding.
Yesterday afternoon, Dos Santos said, after another conversation, Visser had agreed to enter into negotiations regarding the family’s possible endorsement.
@ShainGermaner