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Bearing witness to inconvenient truth o Mediterranean migration crisis takes centre stage in documentary Rescue E VEN two decades working on migration issues did not prepare director Sine Plambech for the

gut-wrenching scenes of human misery she encountered in her new documentary Rescue . The film traces the work of men and women who patrol the Mediterranean Sea helping the often-desperate people they find there who are fleeing economic and political chaos and trying to make their way to Europe. In one scene, cameras capture an operation by the NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) as they try to help a group in a stricken little boat. What unfolds is a tense sequence that ends with the separation of a Yemeni family: A man is taken aboard by the activists while weeping and screaming for his family, who had been abducted by armed men just minutes earlier, right in front of the cameras. The story deeply affected Danish filmmaker Plambech, whose documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has its European premiere recently at the Zurich Film Festival. “It’s been the most emotionally challenging and ethically challenging film I have ever made because (I was) witnessing someone (being) captured, (while I was) there with the husband all the time,” Plambech told AFP. The production follows Hani, a Yemeni man, over the course of several months as he eventually reaches the Italian coast where he must endure an agonising wait, unsure if he will ever see his family again. Eventually, he receives news from his wife Roro, whose cell phone w r d r, h e he l lose myself into, but also very scary and suspenseful,” he said. For Hartnett, the film’s refusal to provide straightforward answers drew him to the project. “What I love about this story is that it’s kind of a choose-your-own adventure about who is the villain,” the Oppenheimer actor said, adding that many modern films “spoon-feed” audiences conclusions. He said he hopes the film’s open-ended nature will spark debate among cinemagoers. “I want to hear lots of arguments. I want to see people throwing popcorn in other people’s faces,” he joked. Hartnett said he was “mesmerised” watching Hathaway and Johnson portray their characters. “These two are just right up there with all the very best in our industry. This whole film exists on their two faces,” he said. For Johnson, Verity’s dark themes have only increased her appetite for villainous roles. “I would love to be a villain. It’s so fun to play a crazy person,” the Fifty Shades of Grey actor told Reuters. Showalter said Hoover remained closely involved throughout the filmmaking process and even makes a cameo appearance. While the movie remains largely

Hundreds of them die along the way. “We were filming under very challenging circumstances, the weather and the waves, and you know the whole nature around being at sea,” she said. But “what we are documenting in our film is something that happens every day”, she said. Plembach said she was concerned by the shifting tides of public opinion and politics in Europe, where a growing anti-migrant movement is making its presence felt in mainstream discourse. Where people fleeing the horrors of sub-Saharan Africa or the repression of Central Asia might have been welcomed in the continent a decade ago, they are now seen as a threat to keep out. “We have a very right-wing change throughout the world on this (issue)... but that’s what makes it even more important to talk about it.” Getting audiences to engage with the issue is not easy, says Plembach. “Can we tell the political story about the EU and other countries (and) the dealings they have across the Mediterranean, but... toned in a way that it can reach audiences that might not watch a film about migration?” she asks. Her solution is to focus on the personal tragedy and hope of Hani and Roro. Hun cha wea kno at s B our eve con pu in an its di h t m c n cha (

A poster for the film.

footage features in the film detailing the physical, psychological and sexual violence she and her children suffered at the hands of their captors. “From the start she was like: ‘I want to tell my story, and if you can help me get justice, I want that too,’” said Plambech, an anthropologist by training. ‘Every day’ Plambech and her team undertook several expeditions alongside the rescuers in an effort to document the migration situation in the Mediterranean, a sea that tens of thousands of people cross every year.

Plambech says she had to find a way to show her film about immigrants to people who might not want to watch it. – PICS FROM IMDB As well as having a bigger political message ,“It’s also a love story. It’s also a family story. It’s about a father who’s longing for his children and a mother who’s willing to do whatever it takes.” Dakota Johnson says Verity puts trust to test, much like real life

P S YCHOLOGICAL thriller Verity taps into the real-world challenge of knowing what is true and who to trust, actor Dakota Johnson said at the film’s recent UK premiere. Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, the film follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, played by Johnson, who is hired to complete a series of books for renowned author Verity Crawford after an accident leaves her unable to write. The assignment draws Lowen into the Crawford family’s secluded estate, where she uncovers what appears to be Verity’s autobiographical manuscript. As its unsettling secrets unfold, the line between truth and deception begins to blur. Johnson said: “It’s so thrilling, it’s so sexy. “You are constantly trying to figure out what the truth is and who the good people are and who the bad people are. It’s kind of a lot like life.” The adaptation is the latest of Hoover’s novels to reach the big screen, following the attention generated by Justin Baldoni’s It Ends With Us . Directed by actor-turned filmmaker Michael Showalter, the film s e s ’s re

stars Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway as Verity and Josh Hartnett as her husband Jeremy. The Big Sick director said he was captivated by the darkly seductive allure Hoover created. “It felt like this very glamorous, hypnotic, inviting world I wanted to The film is an adaptation of Hoover’s bestselling novel. – IMDBPIC

Verity stars Johnson, who plays Lowen, a struggling author. – REUTERSPIC

uncomfortable ideas. “We can handle things that don’t feel everyday. I think that’s important… in commercial film and Hollywood film, to take on difficult subject matter,” he said. Verity recently began its global cinematic rollout.

faithful to the novel, the director acknowledged it leans further into erotic themes. “We are sexual creatures and this story explores that,” he said. More broadly, Showalter said he wanted to make a mainstream film that trusted audiences to engage with