Executive Producer of Documentary 'Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and Beyond' Wins Arbitration

Much has been written about financier and producer Elisabeth Thieriot's battles with Raul Julia-Levy over the ownership of a documentary about the Mayans. The war is now over and the victory has gone to Thieriot as the result of an International Film and Television Association (IFTA) arbitration award. IFTA Arbitrator Gerald Phillips, after a thorough review of all the documentary and testimonial evidence presented during the arbitration proceeding, has awarded Thieriot "the right, title and interest in all footage" and ruled that Levy "is not to possess or exploit" the footage in any way.

The Arbitrator not only found that Levy had lost all rights in the documentary but also determined Levy liable to Thieriot in damages "for breaching material obligations of the Operating Agreement, for fraudulently inducing Thieriot to enter into the Operating Agreement, for continuing to defraud Thieriot throughout the production of the documentary and for Levy breaching his fiduciary duties owed to Thieriot." The amount of damages to be awarded to Thieriot is to be determined in a second phase of the arbitration.

With regard to Levy's claims that Thieriot was liable to Levy due to her alleged misconduct, the Arbitrator found that Levy "failed to establish any of his claims" against Thieriot.

The Arbitrator not only ruled against Levy but in an earlier proceeding in the arbitration found "The many disputed alleged facts testified to by Mr. Julia-Levy, which were all contradicted by documentary evidence and the testimony by other witnesses convinces the Arbitrator that Mr. Julia-Levy is not a credible witness." The Arbitrator concluded, "Mr. Julia-Levy made many inaccurate statements of fact in his declarations which completely destroys his credibility."

Moreover, despite Levy's claims that the Mexican Government was investigating Thieriot, both the First District Court of the State of Campeche, Mexico and the Mexican Instituto National de Antropologia e Historia ("INAH") have confirmed the contrary.  The District Court recently ruled it does not require any witness statements, nor the delivery of any assets or footage of the documentary.  Moreover, INAH confirmed that it has no "administrative procedure, lawsuit or dispute, criminal case or civil complaint" against Thieriot.  

Thieriot, delighted with rulings in both the United States and Mexico, exclaimed, "I am thrilled that the legal systems of two countries have now established my exclusive ownership of the Mayan documentary.  These rulings prove that I was the innocent victim of fraud.  My reputation has finally been restored and Mr. Levy's deceit has finally been exposed and proven."  

Thieriot's films, "Mayan Revelations and Hollywood Lies" and "Decoding B'aqtun" are scheduled to release this year. For more information about the films, visit www.mayanrevelationsandhollywoodlies.com. see VIDEO!

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