THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO - Notes
by Andre Soares
Guantanamo:
The four actors who play the Muslim Englishmen in The Road to Guantanamo and two of the former Guantanamo inmates (Shafiq Rasul and Ruhel Ahmed) were temporarily detained and interrogated by British police upon their return from the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, where The Road to Guantanamo took the Silver Bear for Best Director(s).
Via The Guardian: "In a statement, Rizwan Ahmed said police swore at him and asked if he had become an actor to further the Islamic cause. He said he was at first denied access to a lawyer and was questioned about his views on the Iraq war by a policewoman. ‘She asked me whether I intended to do more documentary films, specifically more political ones like The Road to Guantánamo. She asked ‘Did you become an actor mainly to do films like this, to publicise the struggles of Muslims?’"
As per The Guardian article, "a spokeswoman for Bedfordshire police, which patrols Luton airport, said that none of the six men had been arrested. ‘The police officers wanted to ask them some questions under the counter-terrorism act,’ she said. ‘All were released within the hour. Part of the counter-terrorism act allows us to stop and examine people if something happens that might be suspicious.’"
…
"Guantanamo Bay, the US detention camp in Cuba, has become a synonym for inhumanity: prolonged isolation with no recourse to the law; alleged beatings and torture; forcible feeding of hunger strikers; and now suicides.
"The recent deaths of three detainees are certain to reopen a festering debate among psychologists and psychiatrists about whether they should be sharing their expertise on the human mind with military interrogators." The [London] Times, June 26, 2006
…
"The European Union - which has been harshly critical of US prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and the detention centre for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — today urged all nations to sign a global convention against torture and condemned the practice for any reason.
"’No culture of impunity is acceptable,’ the 25-nation bloc warned in a statement coinciding with observances of the United Nations’ ninth annual International Day to Support the Victims of Torture." The Irish Examiner, June 26, 2006
…..
"In the US, Pentagon spokesmen told reporters that the Tipton Three’s claims were simply untrue. According to Steve Rodriguez, Guantanamo’s chief interrogator, he and his staff had gathered intelligence so valuable that, ‘We have been able as a result of information gained here to take operational actions, even military campaigns.’ As the New York Times dutifully recorded, he emphatically denied ‘the specific allegations of mistreatment made by prisoners recently returned to Britain’. Less than three months later, internal US administration memos confirmed that the treatment described by the three men corresponded exactly to official Pentagon policy." David Rose’s "Using Terror to Fight Terror" in The [London] Guardian (this article also offers a brief history of Guantanamo)
Censorship:
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) banned the Road to Guantanamo poster (right). "The reason given was that the burlap bag over the guy’s head was depicting torture, which wasn’t appropriate for children to see," said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions.
As per a Washington Post report, the MPAA was considerably less worried about the mental health of American children when it approved the posters for the violent but less politically charged films Hostel and Hard Candy.
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Awards and Nominations
THE DA VINCI CODE - Notes/Trivia
FINDING NEVERLAND - Notes/Trivia
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Awards and Nominations
CRASH - Awards and Nominations
WALK THE LINE Awards and Nominations
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Awards and Nominations
Comments
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
