WMD/FILM DOESN’T LIE

Indie films struggle so hard to get made and seen that you wonder why anyone bothers. This director of this political thriller does it because he believes the truth must be told.

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Cast your mind back.

It is the year 2002 and everyone is struggling to recover from the shocks of September 11, 2001.

Everyone except for the politicians, that is.

They are too busy building a case for invading Iraq to be bothered with anything so banal as doing what is best for humanity.

You remember what it was like. Saddam has missiles. Saddam has biochemical weapons. Saddam has WMD. Saddam has swimming pools. Saddam has oil.

Oops, delete those last two. They just slipped in. Of course, they were NOT part of the reasons for the invasion!

Most people listened to this growing list of terror with growing fear. Crikey, this dictator monster must be out to kill us because our leaders tell us so.

But it was different if you were actually working for the terror gathering services and had some access to the inside story.

For instance, MI6 desk officer Alex Morgan uncovered deliberate flaws in the evidence being used to support invasion and had to decide whether to risk his career and even his own safety to expose the truth.

Morgan did not exist. Rather he is the fictional hero of this film. But his story is inspired by facts, and reveals what intelligence circles really knew in the build up for war.

The micro budget film marks the feature debut of award winning writer/director David Holroyd and he quotes George Orwell to sum up his inspiration for the story and for bothering to make it: "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."

Much of the film is compiled from surveillance footage, CCTV cameras and home videos.

Actual filming – often covert, by necessity - started early this year and lasted four weeks, taking place in London, Rome, Berlin, and Washington, and suffered a few unusual difficulties stemming from the controversial storyline.

While at the Rome airport the crew were detained by Italian detectives when they found copies of various forged documents labelled Top Secret and Confidential that were used as evidence against Saddam Hussein.

Director David Holroyd was questioned for 45 minutes.

"45 minutes". Has an interesting ring, doesn’t it? I am sure I have heard it somewhere before!

WMD is produced by seasoned short filmmaker Christine Hartland and she has assembled a talented cast for the money on hand, starting with Simon Lenegan, with credits from Basic Instinct 2 and, appropriately, Spooks, who plays the lead.

Further details on the film can be obtained from the www.wmd-insidestory.com

And by searching for Our First Feature Film on Facebook.

Posted March 25, 2008.