Drug Film Gets Go-ahead

Grünenthal pharmaceuticals had tried to get the TV movie banned, saying it was not a fair or truthful depiction of the tragic story.

But judges in Hamburg ruled this week that it is clearly fiction rather than a documentary. This means it is officially a work of art protected from censorship by the German constitution.

Devastating side effects

The film called “Contergan – Just One Tablet” is now set to be aired on German public television in August.

Contergan was the German name for the drug that was given to pregnant women to treat morning sickness in the 1950s and the early 1960s. The drug triggered the biggest pharmaceutical scandal in postwar Germany after it later became clear that it caused severe damage to the limbs and internal organs of unborn foetuses.

Dr. Annette Fusenig from Grünenthal had criticized the film for failing to properly distinguish between fact and fiction.

"It’s a fictional film, and it does not give the truth, but on the other hand the film claims that is an historically based film," she said.

"Confusing"

Fusenig said she thought viewers would be confused and unable to judge what is based on fact and what is fiction.

The production company Zeitsprung, however, always opposed these claims. Its managing director Michael Souviginier says that Grünenthal has too low an opinion of the audience.

"The audience can differentiate between a feature film and a documentary," said Souvignier. "And our film simply isn’t a documentary; even a child could see that," he added.

The court has asked the film company to make two small alterations before the work goes on air. One scene will be deleted and also “Contergan: Just One Tablet” will have to run with a disclaimer before and after, reiterating that it is a work of fiction.

Victory for filmmakers

Souviginier welcomed the court's decision. "Basically it is art that has won here, and the tradition of such films in Gemany and around the world; a tradition which has come out of this case unscathed," he said.

For its part, Grünenthal says it's not campaigning to stop a film about thalidomide, or to avoid bad press. But the company feels issues like compensation and general treatment of the victims are not fairly depicted in the film.

The firm could still try to appeal the verdict in Germany’s highest court, and says it is considering its options.