Independent Film Guide
The Cuban Prison Crisis:
Q&A With 'Road to Guantanamo'
Director Michael Winterbottom
The Road to Guantanamo
Directed by Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
Theatrical Release Date June 23, 2006
Released by Roadside Attractions
Run time 95 min.
Genre Drama, Documentary
Rating R
Theatrical Release Date June 23, 2006
Released by Roadside Attractions
Run time 95 min.
Genre Drama, Documentary
Rating R
Moviefone: When did you first become aware of the Tipton Three?
Michael Winterbottom: Because they're British, that story was covered in the newspapers in Britain, and when they were released, there was quite a big article about their story. So we contacted their lawyer and met with them about four weeks after they were released from Guantanamo.
MF: Was it difficult convincing them to tell their story?
MW: I think it took them quite a long time to decide whether or not they should do the film. But it wasn't a question of us persuading them. It was a question of them thinking about it and deciding. And I think in the end they did it because they felt they ought to do something for the people who are still there. It was their duty in a way to try and publicize Guantanamo in some way, and try to remind people and show people what it was like to be inside Guantanamo.
MF: How did you arrive at your decision to make it part-documentary, part-dramatization versus committing to one approach or the other?
MW: I thought it was important that they should be in the film telling their story. Part of it's just that's how we felt. Part of it's just I thought it was good that people saw them, saw the real people, and saw what they're like … Also, there are lots of aspects of Guantanamo that are much better to see physically what we're talking about rather than try to describe it. So given that we could build the cages to be exactly as they are so we could show people in that situation … Personally, I don't see it as a dramatization. One thing we tried to do really strictly was not dramatize the situation, not to add drama, not to try and create emotions, not to even try and create characters. We had hundreds of pages of transcripts of what they told us happened, and we sort of reduced it down to as simple and sort of manageable matter as possible. Then we just tried to reenact it, really. So if something's in the film it's because that's what they described. And we could have had them just say it (to the camera) half the movie. Instead we acted it out. But I don't see it as a drama, really. It's just sort of a reenactment.
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Michael Winterbottom: Because they're British, that story was covered in the newspapers in Britain, and when they were released, there was quite a big article about their story. So we contacted their lawyer and met with them about four weeks after they were released from Guantanamo.
MF: Was it difficult convincing them to tell their story?MW: I think it took them quite a long time to decide whether or not they should do the film. But it wasn't a question of us persuading them. It was a question of them thinking about it and deciding. And I think in the end they did it because they felt they ought to do something for the people who are still there. It was their duty in a way to try and publicize Guantanamo in some way, and try to remind people and show people what it was like to be inside Guantanamo.
MF: How did you arrive at your decision to make it part-documentary, part-dramatization versus committing to one approach or the other?
MW: I thought it was important that they should be in the film telling their story. Part of it's just that's how we felt. Part of it's just I thought it was good that people saw them, saw the real people, and saw what they're like … Also, there are lots of aspects of Guantanamo that are much better to see physically what we're talking about rather than try to describe it. So given that we could build the cages to be exactly as they are so we could show people in that situation … Personally, I don't see it as a dramatization. One thing we tried to do really strictly was not dramatize the situation, not to add drama, not to try and create emotions, not to even try and create characters. We had hundreds of pages of transcripts of what they told us happened, and we sort of reduced it down to as simple and sort of manageable matter as possible. Then we just tried to reenact it, really. So if something's in the film it's because that's what they described. And we could have had them just say it (to the camera) half the movie. Instead we acted it out. But I don't see it as a drama, really. It's just sort of a reenactment.
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