Photo: Amazon Studios

A lawsuit was filed against Amazon Studios on Thursday for allegedly using images in the film Suspiria that copied the work of the late Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta. According to Variety, the film’s director Luca Guadagnino has admitted in interviews that he was inspired by Mendieta’s work. However, the lawsuit alleges that Suspiria’s trailer featured two images that Mendieta’s estate claims are derived directly from her works “Untitled (Rape Scene)” and the “Silueta” series. Mendieta’s work focused on violence against women, and following her death in 1985, her estate forbade any reproduction of her works for commercial purposes. After sending a cease and desist letter to Amazon in July, the studio screened the film for the estate’s agent. The agent confirmed that while the two images from the trailer had been removed, eight additional images allegedly bore similarities to Mendieta’s work. The lawsuit is seeking damages and a restraining order to prevent Amazon from using the images in the film.