Kandahar Break

• Film director breaks silence on Taliban film

  Published on: June 25, 2009

  By Quinn Bender
  movieset.com
  
  

  With four wounded and production terminated just six days before wrap, filmmaker David Whitney and his team had to escape from Pakistan when Taliban soldiers opened fire on four crew members near the set of Kandahar Break.

   

  In this exclusive video interview with MovieSet.com, Whitney retells the astonishing behind-the-scenes story and explains why he deemed it necessary to film the movie in Pakistan. Watch the interview here.

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• Post Production in final stages

  Published on: June 5, 2009

  Kandahar Break now in final stages of Post Production

  After a gruelling shoot in Pakistan and Tunisia, the filmmakers returned to the UK to edit Kandahar Break, and the final cut was delivered in March. The film is now in the colour grade, with visual effects being added to enhance certain shots. "Our film is not laden with VFX", commented Director David Whitney in Manchester. "But there are certain shots that we want to improve or enhance by adding VFX subtly in the background. For example, I want to add a couple of buildings in the back of a wide shot, to make the city of Kandahar look bigger. The place we used for Kandahar was much smaller than the real place, but we want to create the look of a city of 300,000 people."

  The audio is also being mixed, to incorporate composer Mark Adair's new score, and remove the temp score used to cut the film. "We used all kinds of great music to create the right feel during the cutting process, from John Williams Munich to pieces from The Usual Suspects and Jarhead", said Whitney. "Mark has used this inspiration, blended it with his own creativity and ideas, and produced a stunning new score that I'm delighted with. It hasn't been tough to get rid of the old temp stuff, as Mark's new score has fit perfectly".

  The final posting process should be completed by July.

   

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• Film crew attacked in Pakistan

  Published on: June 5, 2009

  Kandahar Break film crew flee Pakistan after attack

  The British film crew working on Kandahar Break were evacuated from Pakistan after four Pakistani members of the team were shot in Kanak, in the southern state of Balochistan. All four survived the shooting, and were immediately taken to hospital. The incident occurred during a night shoot on the 22nd day of a 30 day shoot, when a minibus taking the four men was fired upon as it left the crew compound to visit the nearby film set. The attackers then fled the scene. The State government of Balochistan immediately sent a heavily armed police unit to escort the crew back to the city of Quetta, 2 hours away. The Brits then flew back to Islamabad, before returning to The UK the following day. The injured Pakistani crew members recovered and are now safe and well, whilst the attackers have never been publically identified, but the authorities in Pakistan suspected a Taliban link to the shootings. 

  Upon returning to the UK, the filmmakers cut three quarters of the movie from the material they already had, and presented a rough cut to the investors, who then released more funds to finish the shooting in Tunisia. The British crew and cast, plus 6 Pakistani actors, then re-united in Tozeur, Tunisia, to finish the film.

  Go to the link below to see a BBC news story about the incident. 

   

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