Guantanamo Film Gets US Release

The Road To Guantanamo goes Stateside A US film distributor has signed to release The Road to Guantanamo, about three British Muslims held at the detention camp, in the US and Canada. Roadside Attractions will distribute the film by British director Michael Winterbottom.

Roadside Co-president Howard Cohen said the movie would leave viewers "thinking about Guantanamo in a new way".

The film got 1.6m viewers when Channel 4 showed it as part of a simultaneous cinema, DVD and download March release. The movie won a Silver Bear award at Berlin Film Festival last month.

Cohen said: "We think this film is a visceral punch to the gut that will leave everyone thinking about Guantanamo in a new way. It plays like a thriller, but it also shows the real-life struggle of nations to balance fighting terrorism with preserving human rights."

TIPTON THREE

The Road to Guantanamo tells the story of three young men "the Tipton Three," all friends from the West Midlands, who went to Pakistan to arrange a wedding.

They were picked up as terrorist suspects in Afghanistan and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they were held for two years. They were eventually released in 2004 without charge.

The film shows the sort of treatment meted out at the camp and was made at a cost of £1.5m.

Returning from Berlin last month, the actors who play the British inmates were questioned by police at Luton airport under anti-terrorism laws before being released without arrest.

by James MacGregor

Published 22 March 2006