News

Text machinations? Danish Oscar nominee accused of plagiarism

Elvira Lind, the wife of Star Wars star Oscar Isaac, accused of stealing idea from Turkish film

A Turkish filmmaker has confirmed to Politiken newspaper that he has assembled a legal team with a view to taking action against Oscar-nominated short film director Elvira Lind, the Danish wife of Star Wars star Oscar Isaac. 

Serhat Karaaslan contends that Lind’s film ‘The Letter Room’, which on Sunday narrowly missed out on winning the Oscar for ‘Best Live Action Short’, is based on his own 2019 feature-length film ‘Passed by Censor’.

Lind’s team deny knowledge of film
The plagiarism accusations first surfaced in IndieWire, which reported how Karaaslan became aware of the similarities through social media and comments by various film critics.

Representatives of Lind told IndieWire that nobody involved in ‘The Letter Room’, which stars Isaac as a prison officer charged with reading prisoners’ letters, had seen or was even aware of the Turkish film when they heard about the potential lawsuit.

Support from Turkish media
A story concerning the accusations first broke in the Turkish media on April 11 in the newspaper BirGün, which noted that the similarities were yet another example of a Turkish film not getting its just due for influencing another production. 

Cumhuriyet and Posta newspapers also took up the baton, with the latter describing ‘The Letter Room’ as a “cheap copy” of ‘Passed by Censor’.

Lawyer: Beyond a reasonable doubt
“We’re considering our legal options with our co-producers in Turkey/90 Film Production, Germany/Departures Film and France/Silex Films, as we were also in the process of discussing an English version of ‘Passed by Censor’,” Karaaslan and his team told IndieWire. 

“We did not have any financial bargaining attempts. Here’s what our lawyer told them: Beyond a reasonable doubt, this is not just an issue about the breach of moral rights; it is also damaging financial rights of the movie.”

Inspired by a podcast
Lind in turn claims she was inspired to write the script after hearing a podcast.

She told Free to Work last year: “It told the story of different men who were all unknowingly writing love letters to the same woman. She started to ask for money and help with rent, but the letters she wrote were so wonderful and all these men were very in love with her.”

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs