The Cinema Eye Honors revealed the nominees for the 5th Annual Awards honoring Non-Fiction Filmmaking. Winners will be announced on January 11. Here's the list of the 2012 Cinema Eye Honors:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking:
"The Arbor," Directed by Clio Barnard, Produced by Tracy O.Riordan
"Senna," Directed by Asif Kapadia; Produced by James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
"Project Nim," Directed by James Marsh, Produced by Simon Chinn
"Position Among the Stars," Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich, Produced by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich
"Nostalgia for the Light," Directed by Patricio Guzmán, Produced by Renate Sachse
"The Interrupters," Directed by Steve James, Produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James
Outstanding Achievement in Direction:
Clio Barnard for "The Arbor"
Leonard Retel Helmrich for "Position Among the Stars"
Patricio Guzmán for "Nostalgia for the Light"
Steve James for "The Interrupters"
Danfung Dennis for "Hell and Back Again"
Outstanding Achievement in Production:
Erik Nelson...
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking:
"The Arbor," Directed by Clio Barnard, Produced by Tracy O.Riordan
"Senna," Directed by Asif Kapadia; Produced by James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
"Project Nim," Directed by James Marsh, Produced by Simon Chinn
"Position Among the Stars," Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich, Produced by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich
"Nostalgia for the Light," Directed by Patricio Guzmán, Produced by Renate Sachse
"The Interrupters," Directed by Steve James, Produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James
Outstanding Achievement in Direction:
Clio Barnard for "The Arbor"
Leonard Retel Helmrich for "Position Among the Stars"
Patricio Guzmán for "Nostalgia for the Light"
Steve James for "The Interrupters"
Danfung Dennis for "Hell and Back Again"
Outstanding Achievement in Production:
Erik Nelson...
- 12/11/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The It Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd has been confirmed as host of The Moët British Independent Film Awards, taking place on Sunday 4 December at Old Billingsgate.
This will be the comedian’s first time presenting the ceremony which will cover 18 categories including the Best British Independent Film, sponsored by Moët & Chandon.
Competing for such a prestigious trophy on the night will be Senna, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyrannosaur and We Need to Talk About Kevin.
O’Dowd commented: “I am delighted to be the new host of the Moët British Independent Awards this year and I'm really looking forward to the 4 December. It's a ceremony which cherishes innovation, elegance and class so I’m humbled that they've chosen a host who so clearly lacks any of these things. Expect dancing girls.”
Also announced today was this year’s jury panel, with 2000’s Bifa Producer of the Year winner,...
This will be the comedian’s first time presenting the ceremony which will cover 18 categories including the Best British Independent Film, sponsored by Moët & Chandon.
Competing for such a prestigious trophy on the night will be Senna, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyrannosaur and We Need to Talk About Kevin.
O’Dowd commented: “I am delighted to be the new host of the Moët British Independent Awards this year and I'm really looking forward to the 4 December. It's a ceremony which cherishes innovation, elegance and class so I’m humbled that they've chosen a host who so clearly lacks any of these things. Expect dancing girls.”
Also announced today was this year’s jury panel, with 2000’s Bifa Producer of the Year winner,...
- 11/17/2011
- by jennifer.trevorrow@lovefilm.com (Jennifer Trevorrow)
- LOVEFiLM
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy As expected, Steve McQueen's Shame, Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin are three of the top contenders for the Raindance Institute's 2011 British Independent Film Awards (Bifa), the British version of the United States' Spirit Awards (West Coast) and Gotham Awards (East Coast) — apart from the fact that British films are almost invariably modestly budget and independently made. [Full list of 2011 British Independent Film Awards nominations.] With seven nods each — including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor — Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and actor-turned-filmmaker Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur topped the list of nominees. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Ben Wheatley's Kill List each received six nods; Richard Ayoade's Submarine got five. Both Ramsay and Wheatley are also up for Best Director; Asif Kapadia's documentary Senna replaced Kill List on the list of Best British Independent Film nominees.
- 11/1/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Harry Escott has recently recorded his score for the upcoming drama Shame. The movie is directed by Steve McQueen who previously directed the 2008 BAFTA-nominated drama Hunger. Shame stars Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie and Hannah Ware. The drama centers on a thirtysomething man living in New York who is battling his sex addiction and has to deal with the arrival of his troubled sister. McQueen co-wrote the screenplay with Abi Morgan (Brick Lane, the upcoming The Iron Lady). Iain Canning and Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech) are producing. Shame is set for a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month. Momentum Pictures has recently announced a release date on January 13, 2012 in the UK. The movie has also distribution set in place in many international territories. A domestic distribution deal has yet to be announced.
Escott is best known for scoring the critically acclaimed...
Escott is best known for scoring the critically acclaimed...
- 8/6/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
- First time feature filmmakers Steve McQueen’s Hunger and Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges are the toast of the 11th British Independent Film nominations this year -- each share a total of seven nominations a piece, while Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire has a total of six noms in five categories and should be a serious contender in at least the screenwriting category. I’d be surprised if the votes get split equally between McQueen and McDonagh’s respective pictures, Cannes-winning Hunger carries some serious critical weight behind it. Best acting nods should go to Sally Hawkins and Michael Fassbender should come ready with a speech in hand. Here is the complete list of noms:… British Independent Film"Hunger""In Bruges""Man on Wire""Slumdog Millionaire""Somers Town" Actress Vera Farmiga, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"Keira Knightley, "The Duchess"Samantha Morton, "The Daisy Chain"Kelly Reilly,
- 11/24/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
The nominees for the eleventh annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) have been announced. On Tuesday, October 28, at Soho House in London, it is unveiled that IRA prison drama "Hunger" and crime comedy "In Bruges" have dominated the list by collecting seven nominations each.
Both of them will battle it out for the title of Best British Independent Film, contending also with "Slumdog Millionaire", "Man on Wire" and "Somers Town". They will also go head-to-head for Best Screenplay and Best Debut Director. The latter is also known as The Douglas Hickox Award.
On the performers' category, past Variety Award recipient Keira Knightley has been nominated for Best Actress for her performance in "The Duchess". She will be facing Vera Farmiga, Samantha Morton, Kelly Reilly and Sally Hawkins. Moreover, "In Bruges" star Colin Farrell will be up against Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Riz Ahmed and Thomas Turgoose for the Best Actor.
Both of them will battle it out for the title of Best British Independent Film, contending also with "Slumdog Millionaire", "Man on Wire" and "Somers Town". They will also go head-to-head for Best Screenplay and Best Debut Director. The latter is also known as The Douglas Hickox Award.
On the performers' category, past Variety Award recipient Keira Knightley has been nominated for Best Actress for her performance in "The Duchess". She will be facing Vera Farmiga, Samantha Morton, Kelly Reilly and Sally Hawkins. Moreover, "In Bruges" star Colin Farrell will be up against Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Riz Ahmed and Thomas Turgoose for the Best Actor.
- 10/29/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
London -- "Hunger," Steve McQueen's portrait of 1981 Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands, and Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges" led the way as nominations for this year's British Independent Film Awards were unveiled Tuesday, taking seven apiece.
Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" followed closely with six noms, while the micro-budgeted "Shifty," directed by Eran Creevy, took five.
"Hunger," "Bruges" and "Millionaire" are each in the running for best British Independent Film, joining "Man on Wire" and "Somers Town."
But McDonagh missed out on a nomination in the best director category. The contenders for that award include McQueen, Boyle, Mark Herman ("The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"), Shane Meadows ("Somers Town") and Garth Jennings ("Son of Rambow").
Michael Fassbender's turn in "Hunger" sees him nominated in the best actor category, where he'll face off with "In Bruges" stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as well as Riz Ahmed ("Shifty") and...
Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" followed closely with six noms, while the micro-budgeted "Shifty," directed by Eran Creevy, took five.
"Hunger," "Bruges" and "Millionaire" are each in the running for best British Independent Film, joining "Man on Wire" and "Somers Town."
But McDonagh missed out on a nomination in the best director category. The contenders for that award include McQueen, Boyle, Mark Herman ("The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"), Shane Meadows ("Somers Town") and Garth Jennings ("Son of Rambow").
Michael Fassbender's turn in "Hunger" sees him nominated in the best actor category, where he'll face off with "In Bruges" stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as well as Riz Ahmed ("Shifty") and...
- 10/28/2008
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deep Water is a stunning documentary that not only beautifully elucidates a nearly forgotten incident but touches on crucial themes involving isolation, sanity, self-worth, impossible dreams, the nature of heroism and limits of human endurance. The film asks the right questions and never settles for glib answers; indeed this incident defies answers because the enterprise -- an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a nonstop sailing race by an Englishman who was at best a weekend yachtsman -- lacks all rationality.
The film opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York preceding a national rollout. With vigorous marketing, IFC Films should see solid art house boxoffice, and the film undoubtedly will live long on TV and DVD.
In 1968, searching for a circulation booster and mindful of the fuss the year before when Francis Chichester became a national hero by sailing single-handedly around the world, the Sunday Times of London announced a race open to anyone willing to sail solo and nonstop around the world. Two prizes were offered: one to the first man home and a second prize, worth a then-hefty £5,000, for the fastest voyage.
Donald Crowhurst, a 36-year-old father of four with a loundering marine electronics business, is determined to enter. He persuades a local businessman to fund the construction of a "revolutionary" boat. But the businessman exacts a high price: Should Crowhurst fail to complete the voyage, he must buy back the boat, which would mean financial ruin for the struggling businessman.
The boat never gets put together correctly in the rush to meet an Oct. 31 launch date. Nor does Crowhurst really know what he is doing. But no one, not even his loving wife Clare, says, "Don't go." So he steps aboard the unseaworthy craft -- in a tie no less! -- to set sail. He is leaving too late to be the first home, but he can still run the fastest.
Crowhurst has a 16mm camera and tape recorder on board. So filmmakers Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell have a treasure trove of documents from which to fashion this utterly fascinating film. They also have footage and diaries of another racer, Frenchman Bernard Moitessier, to supplement Crowhurst's.
The guides for this journey include Tilda Swinton's narration, Crowhurst's own log and writings and remarkably insightful interviews with Crowhurst's wife, son Simon, his best friend and a Fleet Street journalist, among others.
Making poor time in a leaky craft, Crowhurst is faced with a fateful decision after two weeks. To continue into the stormy Southern Ocean is sheer suicide. To turn back means bankruptcy and humiliation. He chooses a third option.
In a day when satellite positioning did not exist, he reports back record-breaking daily speeds and wrong positions while he drifts aimlessly toward South America. Then he breaks all radio contact. He even makes an illegal landing in Argentina for repairs.
His plan is to wait for the race to catch up with him, then slip back in unnoticed. As long as he finishes but does not win, no one will scrutinize his logbooks. Then two unthinkable events conspired to trap him in his own lie.
A salient fact almost slips by in one of the interviews: Crowhurst is clearly driven by the memory of his own father's destitution and early death after returning home from British India, where the family must have felt a sense of privilege. He also battles with his own self-image of a confident, can-do guy who will rescue his family from similar straits.
Then there is the isolation. A person becomes a god in the vastness of the sea. All decisions belong to you and you alone. Really, though, just by staying at sea in a "bloody boat that is falling to pieces" for 243 days is a kind of triumph. In his own way, Donald Crowhurst did achieve a tainted heroism.
DEEP WATER
IFC Films
Pathe Prods., U.K. Film Council and FilmFour present an APT Films and Stir Friend Films production in association with Darlow Smithson Prods.
Credits:
Directors: Louise Osmond, Jerry Rothwell
Producers: Al Morrow, Jonny Persey, John Smithson
Executive producers: Francois Ivernel, Ralph Lee, Cameron McCracken, Paul Trijbits
Director of photography: Nina Kellgren
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Co-producer: Stewart Le Marechal
Supervising editor: Justine Wright
Editor: Ben Lester
Narrator: Tilda Swinton
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating PG...
The film opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York preceding a national rollout. With vigorous marketing, IFC Films should see solid art house boxoffice, and the film undoubtedly will live long on TV and DVD.
In 1968, searching for a circulation booster and mindful of the fuss the year before when Francis Chichester became a national hero by sailing single-handedly around the world, the Sunday Times of London announced a race open to anyone willing to sail solo and nonstop around the world. Two prizes were offered: one to the first man home and a second prize, worth a then-hefty £5,000, for the fastest voyage.
Donald Crowhurst, a 36-year-old father of four with a loundering marine electronics business, is determined to enter. He persuades a local businessman to fund the construction of a "revolutionary" boat. But the businessman exacts a high price: Should Crowhurst fail to complete the voyage, he must buy back the boat, which would mean financial ruin for the struggling businessman.
The boat never gets put together correctly in the rush to meet an Oct. 31 launch date. Nor does Crowhurst really know what he is doing. But no one, not even his loving wife Clare, says, "Don't go." So he steps aboard the unseaworthy craft -- in a tie no less! -- to set sail. He is leaving too late to be the first home, but he can still run the fastest.
Crowhurst has a 16mm camera and tape recorder on board. So filmmakers Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell have a treasure trove of documents from which to fashion this utterly fascinating film. They also have footage and diaries of another racer, Frenchman Bernard Moitessier, to supplement Crowhurst's.
The guides for this journey include Tilda Swinton's narration, Crowhurst's own log and writings and remarkably insightful interviews with Crowhurst's wife, son Simon, his best friend and a Fleet Street journalist, among others.
Making poor time in a leaky craft, Crowhurst is faced with a fateful decision after two weeks. To continue into the stormy Southern Ocean is sheer suicide. To turn back means bankruptcy and humiliation. He chooses a third option.
In a day when satellite positioning did not exist, he reports back record-breaking daily speeds and wrong positions while he drifts aimlessly toward South America. Then he breaks all radio contact. He even makes an illegal landing in Argentina for repairs.
His plan is to wait for the race to catch up with him, then slip back in unnoticed. As long as he finishes but does not win, no one will scrutinize his logbooks. Then two unthinkable events conspired to trap him in his own lie.
A salient fact almost slips by in one of the interviews: Crowhurst is clearly driven by the memory of his own father's destitution and early death after returning home from British India, where the family must have felt a sense of privilege. He also battles with his own self-image of a confident, can-do guy who will rescue his family from similar straits.
Then there is the isolation. A person becomes a god in the vastness of the sea. All decisions belong to you and you alone. Really, though, just by staying at sea in a "bloody boat that is falling to pieces" for 243 days is a kind of triumph. In his own way, Donald Crowhurst did achieve a tainted heroism.
DEEP WATER
IFC Films
Pathe Prods., U.K. Film Council and FilmFour present an APT Films and Stir Friend Films production in association with Darlow Smithson Prods.
Credits:
Directors: Louise Osmond, Jerry Rothwell
Producers: Al Morrow, Jonny Persey, John Smithson
Executive producers: Francois Ivernel, Ralph Lee, Cameron McCracken, Paul Trijbits
Director of photography: Nina Kellgren
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Co-producer: Stewart Le Marechal
Supervising editor: Justine Wright
Editor: Ben Lester
Narrator: Tilda Swinton
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating PG...
- 8/24/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- Veteran documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield makes an impressive leap to features with "Ghosts", a story of illegal Chinese immigrants in the U.K. Based on actual events and using nonprofessional actors, the film has the immediacy of a well-made documentary and the character arc of a good narrative film.
While immigrant issues are very much in the news, specifics unique to Britain and the gritty reality of the story might limit its theatrical potential in the U.S. But it should play very nicely on cable outlets.
About 3 million illegal immigrants make up the bedrock of the English labor force. Not surprisingly, it's a horrible life. Broomfield, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jez Lewis, displays a keen sense of story and has chosen a charismatic novice, Ai Quin Lin, to play a variation of herself and serve as a way into this hidden world.
The film opens with a gripping sequence in which a group of immigrants are digging for cockles at low tide and become stranded on top of their van as water and a storm rush in. From here, Broomfield cuts back a year to see where this all started.
Ai Quin is a single mother living with her family in the Fujian Province, but she can't make enough money working in the rice fields to support her infant son. So she borrows $25,000 to pay the "Snakehead" gangs to smuggle her into England. Forced into near slavery as part of a crew of immigrants run by Mr. Lin (Zhan Yu), Ai Quin is brought to live in a two-bedroom flat with 11 others, sleeping on a dirty mattress on the floor. Using forged work papers, she gets a series of menial jobs for meager pay. Watching her gutting ducks in a meat-packing plant is enough to make anyone swear off poultry.
Gradually she falls into a routine, and we get to know her and her fellow immigrants. All of them are in the same boat, even Mr. Lin and his haughty Chinese girlfriend. Mr. Lin proves to be a more complex character than the money-grubbing bully he first appears. He has done a little better than the others and now exploits them, but he is there for the same reasons. When he can no longer bribe the ghosts (all white people are referred to as ghosts) at the employment office, the group sets out for what they hope is a more profitable job -- digging for cockles in Morecambe Bay. But the local workers resent the Chinese, and in a beautifully staged and shot scene, a bunch of ghosts attack them in the sand and steal their haul.
And this is where we came in. Suffice it to say, it doesn't end well for many of them. In fact, this incident is based on a real-life tragedy in which 23 Chinese immigrants drowned in the bay while digging for cockles.
Combining his instinct for documentary with a sharp eye for framing, aided by cinematographer Mark Wolf, Broomfield has made a very handsome-looking first feature. He has kept things appropriately sparse, filming with a documentary-size crew of only five. The score by Molly Nyman and Harry Escott, together with a large selection of Chinese songs, adds to the feeling of authenticity.
GHOSTS
A Channel 4 presentation of a Lafayette Films production
Credits:
Director: Nick Broomfield
Screenwriter: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Producer: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Executive producer: Charles Finch
Director of photography: Mark Wolf
Production designer: David Bryan
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Ai Quin: Ai Quin Lin
Mr. Lin: Zhan Yu
Xiao Li: Zhe Wei
Robert: Shaun Gallagher
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
While immigrant issues are very much in the news, specifics unique to Britain and the gritty reality of the story might limit its theatrical potential in the U.S. But it should play very nicely on cable outlets.
About 3 million illegal immigrants make up the bedrock of the English labor force. Not surprisingly, it's a horrible life. Broomfield, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jez Lewis, displays a keen sense of story and has chosen a charismatic novice, Ai Quin Lin, to play a variation of herself and serve as a way into this hidden world.
The film opens with a gripping sequence in which a group of immigrants are digging for cockles at low tide and become stranded on top of their van as water and a storm rush in. From here, Broomfield cuts back a year to see where this all started.
Ai Quin is a single mother living with her family in the Fujian Province, but she can't make enough money working in the rice fields to support her infant son. So she borrows $25,000 to pay the "Snakehead" gangs to smuggle her into England. Forced into near slavery as part of a crew of immigrants run by Mr. Lin (Zhan Yu), Ai Quin is brought to live in a two-bedroom flat with 11 others, sleeping on a dirty mattress on the floor. Using forged work papers, she gets a series of menial jobs for meager pay. Watching her gutting ducks in a meat-packing plant is enough to make anyone swear off poultry.
Gradually she falls into a routine, and we get to know her and her fellow immigrants. All of them are in the same boat, even Mr. Lin and his haughty Chinese girlfriend. Mr. Lin proves to be a more complex character than the money-grubbing bully he first appears. He has done a little better than the others and now exploits them, but he is there for the same reasons. When he can no longer bribe the ghosts (all white people are referred to as ghosts) at the employment office, the group sets out for what they hope is a more profitable job -- digging for cockles in Morecambe Bay. But the local workers resent the Chinese, and in a beautifully staged and shot scene, a bunch of ghosts attack them in the sand and steal their haul.
And this is where we came in. Suffice it to say, it doesn't end well for many of them. In fact, this incident is based on a real-life tragedy in which 23 Chinese immigrants drowned in the bay while digging for cockles.
Combining his instinct for documentary with a sharp eye for framing, aided by cinematographer Mark Wolf, Broomfield has made a very handsome-looking first feature. He has kept things appropriately sparse, filming with a documentary-size crew of only five. The score by Molly Nyman and Harry Escott, together with a large selection of Chinese songs, adds to the feeling of authenticity.
GHOSTS
A Channel 4 presentation of a Lafayette Films production
Credits:
Director: Nick Broomfield
Screenwriter: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Producer: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis
Executive producer: Charles Finch
Director of photography: Mark Wolf
Production designer: David Bryan
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Ai Quin: Ai Quin Lin
Mr. Lin: Zhan Yu
Xiao Li: Zhe Wei
Robert: Shaun Gallagher
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- Four mates from the British Midlands embark on a wedding trip and side adventure in late September 2001 only to find themselves on "The Road to Guantanamo". This remarkable film by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross tracks the true story of these British citizens of Pakistani descent, using hundreds of hours of interviews so the story can come out, literally, in their own words.
The early sections are reminiscent of Winterbottom's astonishing "In This World" (2003), but the road picture soon turns into a war picture and then a prison picture as the men are incarcerated by U.S. forces convinced they are Taliban.
A tough, compelling, must-see movie, "The Road to Guantanamo" is headed for a Channel 4 airing in the U.K. As a consequence of that exposure along with its Berlin Festival competition screening and any possible honors, the film should get wider international distribution than "In This World" received. The film certainly exposes the Bush Administration's repeated assertions of their humane treatment of Islamic prisoners at extra-legal detention centers as a lie.
The film mixes staged and archival footage with recreations of the interviews with the three surviving men. Annoyingly, film does come without a writing credit, presumably because interviews supplied the stories, but clearly someone structured the events.
Just after 9/11, Asif Iqbal (Arfan Usman) sets out for Pakistan to meet the bride his mother found for him. When his best man calls to say he can't make the wedding, Asif calls another friend in England. Ruhel (Farhad Harun) agrees to be best man and he flies out with two other friends, Shafiq Rasul (Rizwan Ahmed) and Monir Ali (Waqar Siddiqui).
With some time on their hands, the four men visit a mosque and hear an Iman's call for men to travel to Afghanistan to give aid to the people. Foolishly, they jump on a bus headed for the border. They arrive in Afghanistan just in time to see the first American bombs hit. At one point during the chaos, they get separated from Monir, who is never heard from again.
The others are captured by Northern Alliance troops and shipped in containers where many die, before being turned over to U.S. forces December 28. They are beaten and tortured by American soldiers when they insist they are not terrorists or fighters. When one interrogator asks in all seriousness for the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, this provokes laughter in the theater that makes you want to weep: Is this what has become of U.S. intelligence?
The three Britons are eventually flown to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where they are held in detention for over two years, systematically tortured and accused of all sort of crimes. A female interrogator shows them bad video footage of an old rally attended by Bin Laden and Mohammed Atta and insists she can see all three sitting in the crowd. This is another of those laugh/cry moments.
Ironically, a police record back in England clears them. Two of the youths were on parole for minor offenses while Shafiq was working at an electrical superstore at the time they supposedly were in Pakistan cheering Bin Laden. The men were freed in England in March 2004.
Working on a budget a little over $2 million, Winterbottom and Whitecross superbly recreate these experiences in locations in Britain, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. There is little time for character or relationship development as events hit these young men fast. Similarly, the bullying American and British interrogators are all interchangeable.
The film doesn't really plead a political cause or moral crusade as show in persuasive dramatic terms what happened to these lads. It makes no attempt to enlarge the story beyond these men or to verify any of their claims. Continually, President Bush refers detainees at Guantanamo as "bad people." Clearly, these three were not.
THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO
Film Four
Revolution Films
Credits:
Directors/editors: Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
Producer: Melissa Parmenter
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Costumes: Esmaeil Maghsoudi
Cast:
Ruhel: Farhad Harun
Asif: Arfan Usman
Shafiq: Rizwan Ahmed
Monir: Waqar Siddiqui
Zahid: Shahid Iqbal
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 95 minutes...
BERLIN -- Four mates from the British Midlands embark on a wedding trip and side adventure in late September 2001 only to find themselves on "The Road to Guantanamo". This remarkable film by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross tracks the true story of these British citizens of Pakistani descent, using hundreds of hours of interviews so the story can come out, literally, in their own words.
The early sections are reminiscent of Winterbottom's astonishing "In This World" (2003), but the road picture soon turns into a war picture and then a prison picture as the men are incarcerated by U.S. forces convinced they are Taliban.
A tough, compelling, must-see movie, "The Road to Guantanamo" is headed for a Channel 4 airing in the U.K. As a consequence of that exposure along with its Berlin Festival competition screening and any possible honors, the film should get wider international distribution than "In This World" received. The film certainly exposes the Bush Administration's repeated assertions of their humane treatment of Islamic prisoners at extra-legal detention centers as a lie.
The film mixes staged and archival footage with recreations of the interviews with the three surviving men. Annoyingly, film does come without a writing credit, presumably because interviews supplied the stories, but clearly someone structured the events.
Just after 9/11, Asif Iqbal (Arfan Usman) sets out for Pakistan to meet the bride his mother found for him. When his best man calls to say he can't make the wedding, Asif calls another friend in England. Ruhel (Farhad Harun) agrees to be best man and he flies out with two other friends, Shafiq Rasul (Rizwan Ahmed) and Monir Ali (Waqar Siddiqui).
With some time on their hands, the four men visit a mosque and hear an Iman's call for men to travel to Afghanistan to give aid to the people. Foolishly, they jump on a bus headed for the border. They arrive in Afghanistan just in time to see the first American bombs hit. At one point during the chaos, they get separated from Monir, who is never heard from again.
The others are captured by Northern Alliance troops and shipped in containers where many die, before being turned over to U.S. forces December 28. They are beaten and tortured by American soldiers when they insist they are not terrorists or fighters. When one interrogator asks in all seriousness for the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, this provokes laughter in the theater that makes you want to weep: Is this what has become of U.S. intelligence?
The three Britons are eventually flown to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where they are held in detention for over two years, systematically tortured and accused of all sort of crimes. A female interrogator shows them bad video footage of an old rally attended by Bin Laden and Mohammed Atta and insists she can see all three sitting in the crowd. This is another of those laugh/cry moments.
Ironically, a police record back in England clears them. Two of the youths were on parole for minor offenses while Shafiq was working at an electrical superstore at the time they supposedly were in Pakistan cheering Bin Laden. The men were freed in England in March 2004.
Working on a budget a little over $2 million, Winterbottom and Whitecross superbly recreate these experiences in locations in Britain, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. There is little time for character or relationship development as events hit these young men fast. Similarly, the bullying American and British interrogators are all interchangeable.
The film doesn't really plead a political cause or moral crusade as show in persuasive dramatic terms what happened to these lads. It makes no attempt to enlarge the story beyond these men or to verify any of their claims. Continually, President Bush refers detainees at Guantanamo as "bad people." Clearly, these three were not.
THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO
Film Four
Revolution Films
Credits:
Directors/editors: Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
Producer: Melissa Parmenter
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Molly Nyman, Harry Escott
Costumes: Esmaeil Maghsoudi
Cast:
Ruhel: Farhad Harun
Asif: Arfan Usman
Shafiq: Rizwan Ahmed
Monir: Waqar Siddiqui
Zahid: Shahid Iqbal
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 95 minutes...
- 2/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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