German cannibal movie ban lifted

Rohtenburg starred Thomas Kretschmann as a cannibal

A horror film based on the real story of cannibal Armin Meiwes can now be shown in Germany, a court has ruled.

Screenings of Rohtenburg were banned in 2006 after a court ruled the film infringed the convicted 47-year-old's personal rights.

But a court in Karlsruhe said public interest outweighs his complaint the film would cause him emotional damage.

Meiwes was convicted of murder and given a life sentence in 2006 after admitting partially eating another man.

The film, which was released internationally under the title Grimm Love, starred Mission Impossible: 3 actress Keri Russell as an American exchange student, studying criminal psychology in Germany, who chooses the notorious cannibal case for her thesis.

The makers of the movie argued that Meiwes' case did no more than provide inspiration for their film in which German actor Thomas Kretschmann plays a cannibal named Oliver Hartwin.

Marketing deal

Meiwes met his victim on the internet in 2001

The court ruled that the producers' right to artistic freedom, together with Meiwes' own previous efforts at marketing the gory deed, outweighed his personal rights.

The film did not misrepresent the facts of the case, which were in any case widely known, a court statement said.

Meiwes gave many interviews on himself and the crime and signed a marketing contract with a production company in 2004.

The case has been the subject of a book, several additional films, and songs by Rammstein and Marilyn Manson.

In the real tale that horrified Germany, engineer Meiwes met IT manager Bernd-Juergen Brandes after posting an advert on the internet asking for a willing victim in 2001.

A Frankfurt court sentenced Meiwes, rejecting the argument that his act of cannibalism amounted to euthanasia since Brandes had wanted to be eaten.

It was not immediately clear whether the movie will now be screened in German cinemas.