www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2tbjpANfW8
‘It has always seemed to me that what I write is about humanity in extremis, pushed to the unendurable, and that it is important to tell people what really happens in wars.’ Marie Colvin, 2001
Biographer Lindsey Hilsum will be joined by Henry Porter to discuss the life and work of Marie Colvin, one of the world’s most experienced foreign correspondents of our time.
Marie Colvin was glamorous, hard-drinking, braver than the boys, with a troubled and rackety personal life. With fierce compassion and honesty, she reported from the most dangerous places in the world, fractured by conflict and genocide, going in further and staying longer than anyone else.
In Sri Lanka in 2001, Marie was hit by a grenade and lost the sight in her left eye – resulting in her trademark eye patch – and in 2012 she was killed in Syria. Like her hero, the legendary reporter Martha Gellhorn, she sought to bear witness to the horrifying truths of war, to write ‘the first draft of history’ and crucially to shine a light on the suffering of ordinary people.
Written by fellow foreign correspondent Lindsey Hilsum, this is the story of the most daring war reporter of her generation. Drawing on unpublished diaries and notebooks, and interviews with Marie’s friends, family and colleagues, In Extremis is the story of our turbulent age, and the life of a woman who defied convention.
Lindsey Hilsum is Channel 4 News International Editor, and has covered many of the conflicts of recent years including in Syria, Ukraine and the Arab Spring – sometimes alongside Marie Colvin. She was in Baghdad for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and in Belgrade for the 1999 NATO bombing. In 1994, she was the only English-speaking correspondent in Rwanda when the genocide began. She has won awards from the Royal Television Society and BAFTA amongst others. Her last book, Sandstorm; Libya in the Time of Revolution, was described by the Observer as “an account with historical depth to match dramatic reportage.”
Henry Porter is a novelist and former commentator for the Observer. He is a winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award – for Brandenburg, his novel about the Fall of the Berlin wall, which he covered in 1989. His latest book, Firefly, is the story of young boy on the migrant route in 2015 and is the first part of a trilogy set in the turbulent world of US and European politics. He was a friend of Marie’s and sat opposite her when they worked at the Sunday Times in the eighties. This was at a time when she was regularly picking up the phone to Yasser Arafat and Muammar Gaddafi.
]]>The Siege of Sarajevo, lasting from 1992 to 1996, was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. After Bosnia and Herzegovina had declared independence from Yugoslavia, the Bosnian Serbs — whose goal was to create a new Bosnian Serb state that would include parts of Bosnian territory – encircled Sarajevo with a force of 13,000.
In this award-winning new documentary acclaimed journalists Remy Ourdan and Patrick Chauvel masterfully capture the experiences of the city’s residents who experienced the siege firsthand. As these men and women recall memories of everyday life under the blockade, history interweaves with personal testimony to create a humanising portrait of battle and resistance.
Sarajevo was a multi-ethnic crossroads between East and West. When the fighting began, Sarajevo was the unarmed capital of a state without an army. For Sarajevans, the war came as a surprise, and the city remained besieged for almost four years. Utilising rarely seen archive footage, poignant interviews and astounding photography, The Seige presents a multi-layered and personal account of a vertiginous descent into war.
A siege is a unique phenomenon in a war: the entire city becomes the frontline, where fighters and civilians struggle and live together. For Sarajevans, their resistance was as much political, intellectual and artistic as it was military. With sensitivity for their subjects, Remy Ourdan and Patrick Chauvel present an entirely new image of the Siege of Sarajevo in which survivors tell their own stories.
The Siege was awarded the Gold FIPA 2016 for best documentary.
In coproduction with ARTE, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, Pro Ba (Bosnia)
Directed by: Remy Ourdan and Patrick Chauvel
Produced by: Blanche Guichou / AGAT Films & Cie
Country: France
Year: 2016
Runtime: 90′
After an inspiring discussion with Robert McCrum on his list of the 100 greatest novels of all time composed for The Observer, we remain in the literary gear and welcome the acclaimed playwright, poet, and librettist Dan O’Brien.
During the evening, Dan will give a reading from his book of poems War Reporter, as well as talking about his critically acclaimed play The Body of an American, which was derived from the same material.
The collection of poems focuses on the photojournalist Paul Watson. Paul won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1993 photograph of a dead American being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Deriving from correspondence between poet and photojournalist, from transcripts, Watson’s own memoir, and their eventual meeting on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, these poems bear unsparing witness to the incalculable damage inflicted by contemporary warfare.
‘War Reporter is an edgy, heartbreaking amalgam of memoir, dramatic monologue and poetic intensity, in which war reporter Paul Watson’s complex personal struggles are seen against the backdrop of political violence.’
– Alan Shapiro
‘A masterpiece of truthfulness and feeling, and a completely sui generis addition not just to writing about war but to contemporary poetry’
– Patrick McGuinness, Guardian
War Reporter won the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2013 and was shortlisted for the Forward First Collection Prize 2013, while The Body of an American won the prestigious Horton Foote Prize in New York in September 2014.
The format for the night will be as tried and tested: drinks from 7:00 PM, dinner at 7:30 PM – getting to know one another over starters before I cue our guest. After Dan‘s readings the discussion begins over the main course. Same ethos as usual: this is not a “book club”, more a 19th century salon after which people leave merrier, better-fed and wiser than when they arrived, having hopefully made new acquaintances, friends, lovers, who knows.
We do intend to keep the dinner intimate and places are going fast, so please book now.
Very best wishes, see you there –
Ed Vulliamy & Pranvera Smith
Frontline Club BookNights
Menu £25 per person excluding drink
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For this special event, Helen Chadwick Song Theatre will perform extracts from War Correspondents. The show was inspired by recent interviews with journalists who have worked on the front line, covering conflicts from Bosnia and Iraq to Chechnya and Liberia.
Amongst other interviews, the show also includes testimonies from the Frontline Club members including: Martin Bell, Vaughan Smith, Kate Holt and the late Tim Hetherington.
The performance will be followed by a discussion touching on the issues raised in the songs including impartiality, the guilt that builds up while reporting on people when they are at their most vulnerable, censorship, the increased dangers of working in the field since 9/11, the difficulties of safety for independent journalists in particular, and the personal cost to those reporting.
War Correspondents is created by the company with composer Helen Chadwick (Dalston Songs), choreographer Steven Hoggett (co-founder of Frantic Assembly and Oliver Award-winner for Black Watch) and creative associate Miriam Nabarro. It depicts the extraordinary stories and life changing experiences of journalists – men and women who risk their lives in extreme circumstances.
This will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with some of the creative team and the journalists whose testimonies helped create the show.
The panel:
Kate Holt, a photojournalist based in East Africa. She photographs for the international media, NGO’s and corporate clients.
Martin Bell OBE, a British UNICEF Ambassador, a veteran journalist and former independent politician.
Moderated by The Guardian correspondent, Christ
Due to the nature of the job, this event will be presented with a slightly different lineup: Channel 4 News’ International Editor, Lindsey Hilsum and the freelance filmmaker, photographer and recent author, Paul Conroy. They will talk about their craft and work.
The event will start at 8pm – note that this is an hour later than originally advertised. Tickets are £20 and can be purchased online and at the door.
On 28 October 2012, a government jet dropped a bomb on the village of al-Bara. Only 300 meters away, Olly Lambert was filming a meeting of rebel soldiers. While keeping his camera rolling, Lambert documented the shocking impact of the regime air strike on a civilian population.
As he was editing the highly acclaimed Syria: Across the Lines – a revealing report for Channel 4/PBS – he realised the footage shot that day in al-Bara offered a candid insight into the reality of documenting a war. Lambert decided to narrate the raw footage and publish it online, creating a rare, immersive and powerful portrait of the civil war. This footage went viral and reached a far greater number of people around the world than had tuned in to the original Channel 4/PBS piece.
Taking as his starting point the stark difference between the standard format piece of reportage he was commissioned to film and the 36 minutes of intimate personally narrated footage which became known as The Bombing of Al Bara, Lambert will discuss in depth the experience of filmmaking on the front line.
Directed by Olly Lambert
Duration: 36′
Year: 2012
Between the Lines was a three-day festival that took place at Rich Mix from 1 to 3 March. In a series of follow up events we continue to explore the challenges facing documentary makers, investigative journalists and citizen reporters in the new media landscape.
Presented by:
Supported by:
Salma
Thursday 26 September 2013, 8:00 PM Rich Mix London
Growing up in South India, Salma spent most of her childhood under house arrest. She poured out her anguish writing poetry which she sneaked out of the house. Against the odds she became one of the best known Tamil poets and her newfound fame helped her start on the path to freedom. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kim Longinotto’s long-term editor Ollie Huddleston.
Which Way is the Front Line from Here – The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington + Q&A
Thursday 17 October 2013, 8.30 PM Lexi Cinema
Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger, thoughtfully portrays Tim Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer James Brabazon.
Shorts at the Frontline Club – Between the Lines Special – BOOK NOW
Friday 25 October 2013, 7:00 PM Frontline Club
Join us for an evening of short documentaries, showcasing films from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. As part of Between the Lines the selection will focus on ‘filming the unfilmable’, followed by a discussion on how to document events that that are difficult to access.
The Bombing of al-Bara + Q&A – BOOK NOW
Tuesday 29 October 8.30 PM Ritzy Picture House
2012, a government jet dropped a large bomb on the village of al-Bara. Only 300 meters away, Olly Lambert was filming a meeting of rebel soldiers. While keeping his camera rolling, Lambert documented the shocking impact of regime air strikes on a civilian population. The result is a rare, immersive portrait of the reality of civil war.
No Fire Zone : The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, chronicles the final 138 days of the 26 year Sri Lankan civil war, told by the people who lived through it. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Callum Macrae.
Presented by:
Supported by:
On 20 April 2011, photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was killed by mortar fire in the city of Misrata, Libya. He bled out in the back of a pick-up truck on his way to the hospital.
In his work Hetherington focused on the experience of war from the perspective of the individual. Through his photographs, writing and films, he offered new ways to think about human suffering as a result of war. He captured the perspective of the soldiers and the civilians, caught up in the many conflicts he reported. The work he did throughout his ten-year career has established him as one of the most important photojournalists of his generation.
Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger thoughtfully portrays Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists.
Directed by Sebastian Junger
Produced by James Brabazon
Duration: 79′
Year: 2013
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We will be discussing Kashmir’s future, the changing role of the foreign correspondent with The Guardian‘s Jonathan Steele, torture and the Arab Spring, and the coming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A series of Film Africa documentaries look at the people of the Western Sahara and a community of women living in exile after being accused of witchcraft. There’s a film about the street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi who, by setting himself on fire, sparked an uprising in Tunisia, and another tells the story of the brother of Private McKinley Nolan and his quest to find out the truth about what happened to the missing G.I.s in Vietnam.
Following on from this month’s #fcbbca discussion on Israel, we will be discussing women and the Arab Spring at Westminster College’s Paddington Green Campus. The focus of our November First Wednesday discussion will be announced on Wednesday 26 October.
Follow us on Twitter and catch up on any events you missed on the Forum blogor download our podcasts on iTunes.
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Frontline Club founder Vaughan Smith has been given a prestigious Bayeux-Calvados award for Blood and Dust, a film shot during 10 days spent with a US Medevac helicopter team in Afghanistan.
The awards, which were launched in 1994, recognise the work of journalists covering conflicts around the world.
Smith’s film, which was shown on Al Jazeera in February this year, won the grand format television category with his coverage of the work of the paramedics of the US Army’s 214th Aviation Regiment.
This year the awards were dominated by Libya, with Sky News’ Alex Crawford’s team announced winners of two awards at an event in north-west France for their reports from Libya’s besieged town of Zawiyah, between 4 to 6 March.
Smith, who has filmed in Afghanistan several times in the past, said he decided to go back because he was concerned that his previous work had shown the machinery of war but not the suffering:
"This being a grevous omission I went back last winter to film US army air ambulances, ‘Dustoff’ helicopters, flying over Marjah in Southern Afghanistan, " he said: "The pictures are strong and show both US marines and Afghan civilians being lifted off the battlefield in equal numbers."
Of his decision to work with Al Jazeera, he said: "I couldn’t find another news broadcaster in Britain that would show the film without cutting out the stronger images. I have huge respect for the way Al Jazeera as a broadcaster engages the world while so many others appear to retreat from it."
Read more about Vaughan Smith in Afghanistan.
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