The family of Oscar Pistorius are to sue the makers of a new film on the life of the South African sprinter, who is serving a prison sentence for murdering his girlfriend four years ago.
In a statement on Tuesday, they said the film, to be released next month, was “a gross misrepresentation of the truth”.
“The ‘film’ is rather a representation of what the prosecution tried to portray. We will be taking legal action,” they said.
Pistorius, a double amputee who found global fame when he reached the semi-finals of the 200m sprint at the 2012 Olympics in London, was sentenced last year to six years in prison for killing Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in 2013 after firing four bullets from a handgun through a closed toilet door in his home in Pretoria.
The 30-year-old has always maintained that he believed he was shooting an intruder, not his girlfriend, and rejected descriptions of a tumultuous relationship with Steenkamp marked by jealousy and arguments.
Steenkamp’s parents said on Monday they had been “horrified and upset” to read a report in US media that the film would be told from the perspective of Steenkamp and her mother.
“Any impression that is created that … the movie is endorsed by the Steenkamp family is untrue and incorrect,” they said.
The film, Blade Runner Killer, has been made by a US cable and satellite TV company. It stars Andreas Damm, a South African actor based in New York, and Toni Garrn, a German model.
A trailer shows the couple arguing, with Pistorius picking up a handgun and telling Steenkamp to “get back here”.
Tens of millions of people worldwide followed the Pistorius trial. Almost every minute of more than 40 days of psychological drama, police procedural and legal argument was broadcast live on South African television – and amplified by social media.
The sentence was much lower than many had expected and was widely criticised as too lenient.
Public prosecutors, who had demanded the mandatory minimum of 15 years for murder, have appealed against the trial judge’s decision. The South African supreme court’s verdict is expected early next month.
Pistorius will be eligible for parole long before the end of the sentence. The former athlete was recently transferred to a jail adapted for disabled prisoners.
