UK
Michael Winterbottom§
Three years ago, young British producer Graham Broadbent and his
LA-based partner Damian Jones set up Dragon Pictures, with two
aims: 'to work with talented people, and to combine the best of
the UK and the US.' Three years on, the duo have seen their first
two projects emerge, which certainly fit the bill. After
Gridlock'd, starring Tim Roth and the late Tupac Shakur, Michael
Winterbottom's Welcome to Sarajevo makes its much-anticipated
world premiere in competition at Cannes.
On the basis of its important subject matter - the war in former Yugoslavia - and of the widespread interest in hot director Winterbottom, whose Jude played in Directors' Fortnight last year, the film has been mooted as a competition banker for several months.
Broadbent has been working on the project since 1992: 'I saw Michael Nicholson's story in the newspapers and thought it was a great story. After the book [Natasha's Story] was published , I got the film rights and went to David Aukin. With Michael and then writer Frank Cottrell Boyce on board, Film Four gave us half the [$9.5 million] budget - the most they've ever invested in a single project.
'So we had a good director, a good writer and half the money,' Broadbent continues. 'But we felt that the project needed careful handling if it wasn't to get lost. Miramax has a remorseless energy in its North American distribution side, and Paul Webster and Harvey Weinstein were hugely supportive of the film. Like us, they want it to get a crack at the big screen in the US and internationally.'
The film is based on the story of Nicholson, a journalist with ITN, who was stationed in Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia. While the city is under siege from enemy artillery, positioned in the hills that circle the city, Henderson (Nicholson) and his team file regular reports from the city for the television news in Britain.
Henderson discovers an orphanage, situated on the front line, under continuous bombardment from artillery fire. Horrified by the terrible conditions the children live under, he repeatedly films reports from the orphanage urging the international community to take action to remove the children to safety.
Frustrated by the lack of response and no longer able to maintain journalistic detachment, he determines to smuggle one of the children back to England.
Writer Cottrell Boyce used Nicholson's book as a starting point for the script, broadening it out to become a film about a city under siege. 'I used Nicholson's story as a peg on which to hang a film about the war, and in particular about the nightmare of Sarajevo....The city seemed to be the main character - a civilised, multi-ethnic city beset by barbaric, ethnically defined forces. I hope that part of the movie is a kind of hymn to Sarajevo and its spirit.'
To this end, director Winterbottom, described by Broadbent as 'a very powerful director...very strong on emotion without being sentimental,' insisted on filming in Sarajevo itself, despite the obvious logistical problems. When Broadbent and Winterbottom arrived for the first time in Sarajevo, accompanied by Nicholson, shortly after the Dayton Peace accord, their hotel was one of only two still open. And it had no running water or heating, while rockets had drilled huge holes through the walls. 'It was a great leveller,' Broadbent recalls.
The support of the people of Sarajevo was crucial to the success of the project: 'We were recreating scenes that were vivid in the minds of local people. The bread scene massacre, for example, is a very tough scene, and we were nervous about filming it there. But the local people want the world to know about the war, and gave us their support. Indeed, a local film group, Saga, helped us get as close as we could get to represent life during the war.'
The relatively unknown Stephen Dillane plays Henderson (Nicholson), while Hollywood stars Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei are among those in supporting roles, alongside many local actors. Broadbent praises his stars, who took part for little money and under conditions which few stars would tolerate.
Logistically, filming in Sarajevo may have been 'a complete nightmare,' since much of the city's infrastructure had been destroyed. Not many film crews include a mine safety expert on set throughout. But the rewards, according to Broadbent, were enormous for the crew, and for the authenticity and impact of the final film. Nick Thomas
Prod co: Dragon Pictures for Channel Four Films and Miramax Films
Prods: Graham Broadbent, Damian Jones
Dir: Michael Winterbottom
Scr: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Ph: Daf Hobson
Prod des: Mark Geraghty
Cos: Janty Yates
Ed: Trevor Waite
Music: Adrian Johnston
Cast: Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Kerry Fox
Running time: 100 mins
Int sales: Film Four International
