On Wednesday evening, Directors UK members came to our Covent Garden offices for a special screening of Mosul, followed by a Q&A with directors Olivier Sarbil and James Jones, moderated by Olly Lambert.
The discussion ranged from the type of kit you need for filming in such adverse conditions, the aesthetic approach to shooting war, and the challenges of building a narrative from whatever footage the difficult conditions allow.
We're excited for our screening of Mosul followed by a Q&A with directors @jamesjonestv + @oliviersarbil - follow #DUKMosul for the Tweets! pic.twitter.com/sa4Cjrbmle
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier Sarbil is an award winning documentary filmmaker. In the last decade, he has covered most major conflicts and social issues.
James Jones is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. His credits include Unarmed Black Male, Saudia Arabia Uncovered and Children of the Gaza War.
Well that was a really powerful piece of documentary filmmaking - now it's time for the Q&A, moderated by @ollylambert #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olly Lambert is an award-winning documentary director. His credits include Abused: The Untold Story and Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict.
The first question from Olly is about cameras and kit. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: Logistically it was tough, you don't know when you'll be able to charge your kit - I got maybe 60 hours for 6 months #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: You can feel like you're missing things but on the other hand, over-shooting doesn't mean you get better stuff. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olly asks about James' role. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: When I came on board it was a 20 minute short, but I was stunned by how the footage looked and the access. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: We shouldn't be able to work together but we do - we're both very passionate. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: I wouldn't be able to work with someone who didn't have that spark. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: I would drive the edit and Olivier would definitely have an editor's mindset while cutting a scene. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
#DUKMosul pic.twitter.com/LHB9i0bWjq
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olly says it feels like a mood piece, giving a sense of chaos, grief and dirt. Was this a deliberate approach? #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: Olivier's footage was very atmospheric. This is just the unvarnished reality of war, it's not a campaigning film. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: It surprises me that people think you can't shoot war in an aesthetic way. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: When I'm on the battlefield, I'm not going to force myself to screw my shot to make it look "real". #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Audience questions now. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Did they have a sense of the narrative they wanted before they shot? #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: I'm not going to go into a war zone on a gamble. I met a few of the principal characters, and got the sense of the story #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: I don't speak Arabic and I didn't have a translator - I had to follow my instinct. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: One of the most amazing moments for me was actually finding out afterwards what everyone was saying! #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: I think if I had a translator with me I would have lost some of the connection, they would have talked to them, not me. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: It's a really interesting experiment for documentary filmmaking. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
When did the decision to not have commentary, and playing down narrative, come into your thinking? #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: We thought quite early on that it would work quite well without commentary. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: We weren't sure we would be able to get the interviews we needed until the very end. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: If we didn't have those, we would have needed a commentary. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: Iraqi soldiers are very reserved, to get them to open up is very difficult and unusual. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
A member asks if the film will be shown to the soldiers. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: Absolutely, they've seen the 20 minute version already! #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: I was asked every day to show the film, they were really keen to watch it. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
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How did you get through this - were you a detached storyteller or engaged with your characters? #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@DirectorsUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/DirectorsUK/status/918196574051762181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2017Olivier: You need to have the emotion, because you can't film without emotion. But you need some balance and distance too. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: Mentally, you need to fight the sense of isolation in that scenario too. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier tells us he doesn't use a rig, because he needs that mobility. And he only shoots with the viewfinder, not the LCD screen #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: He's a human tripod, he doesn't breathe when he shoots. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
A member asks whether Olivier has had war zone experience before, and if he's ever felt it's too dangerous. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
Olivier: Yes, I've had plenty of experience and been wounded once. But I trust the risk assessment and only go in when worth it #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
James: There's no one else Dan (Edge) and I would have trusted more with this level of risk. He's brave but not reckless. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
And that's a wrap! Massive thanks to the brilliant @oliviersarbil and @jamesjonestv for that fascinating insight. #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
And thank you to @ollylambert for moderating! #DUKMosul
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) October 11, 2017
After the screening, our members took to Twitter to have their say...
Fantastic immersive doc #Mosul tonight quite a different take on warfare thank you @Directors_UK @jamesjonestv
— Hannah Berryman (@BerrymanHannah) October 11, 2017
Thanks for having us! https://t.co/9AtUMjoi88
— James Jones (@jamesjonestv) October 11, 2017
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