The action-packed impartial espionage thriller “Damascus Cover,” primarily based on Howard Kaplan’s 1977 spy novel of the identical title, was screened in Tel Aviv final week with director Daniel Berk and Israeli actor Aki Avni in attendance.
Filmed in Moroccoo over an eight-week manufacturing interval in early 2015, the suspense-filled movie stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Hurt, Olivia Thirlby, Jürgen Prochnow, Navid Negahban in addition to Israeli actors Aki Avni, Tsahi Halevi and Igal Naor.
The movie, which gained six awards in its premiere on the 2017 Boston Film Festival, might be launched theatrically in the United States on July 20, in the United Kingdom on August three, and in keeping with Berk, presumably on Netflix as properly.
At the Tel Aviv screening, Berk and Avni mentioned the method of creating the movie, which took greater than 9 years. There was problem discovering dedicated buyers, multiple solid change, and one other delay when Rhys Meyers damage his hand shortly before leaving for Morocco to movie.
The $5 million film was filmed on location in Israel and Morocco as a result of it was far cheaper, stated Berk.
It additionally helped that Hurt has a house in Morocco and the Israeli actors lived simply a brief aircraft trip away.
Olivia Thirlby (left) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in ‘Damascus Cover’ (Courtesy Damascus Cover)
The suspenseful thriller facilities round an Israeli spy, Ari Ben Zion, performed by Rhys Meyers, who carries a heavy burden from the loss of life of his youngster.
Ben Zion is shipped to Syria to smuggle a chemical weapons scientist out, however his mission goes awry and he should attain out to a different agent named “The Angel.” He quickly realizes he's a part of an a lot bigger, extra sophisticated operation.
Berk famous the problem of taking pictures a movie with Jewish and Israeli roots in Morocco, which doesn't at the moment have formal relations with Israel.
The movie crew was not allowed to place up any indicators pointing to the Jewish or Israeli context of the movie — “no Jewish stars,” he stated. One Israeli actor was requested by a bystander why Israelis kill all the kids in the Arab world.
Berk stated the movie was really bought by Dubai movie distributor Gulf Film, the biggest movie distributor in the Middle East, however was blocked by censors.
The film, nonetheless, conveys a message of peace, as senior Israeli and Syrian officers work collectively to mitigate the battle between their respective nations to forestall any pointless deaths.
“If people care about their children, then maybe things can change,” stated Berk.
Berk emphasised on the screening that Israelis should not quit on the dream of peace, quoting from the film, “If the Berlin Wall could fall, anything can happen.”
The director found Kaplan’s tense spy novel on a buddy’s bookshelf in 2005 and emailed Kaplan for the rights to make the screenplay.
Kaplan launched a new novel two weeks in the past titled “The Spy’s Gamble,” intertwining present occasions in the Israeli-Palestinian battle with the historical past of the battle.