"Cold Track" is documentary filmmaker Jonathan Millet's debut as a feature film director. And despite the well-timed theme, he was completely unprepared for the course of events.
It was really not expected, he says to TT.
I started in 2019. Then, not many people knew about Sednaya prison. Now, stories and images have really changed that.
Seeking Revenge
Even while the Assad regime was in power, many of its executioners left the country and sought anonymity in Europe. The film's Harfax has started a new life in Strasbourg – but is haunted by Hamid, who has personal experiences of the regime's torture. Hamid has been engaged by an organization that is tracking down the executioners – and wants to exact personal revenge.
Millet had good use of his background as a documentary filmmaker, he notes.
I'm used to doing research. I worked on the film for several years, met Syrians, took part in their stories. I wanted everything to be correct, if a Syrian saw the film, they would say "yes, everything is true".
In everything, from casting to the final editing, I had Syrians around me, and I wanted to have advice on what we could and couldn't say.
Chose Intimacy
"Cold Track" is a low-key thriller that raises questions about seeking revenge. It has some similarities with Steven Spielberg's "Munich", but whereas that had spectacular action scenes, Millet has chosen more intimacy.
I wanted to create space for questions, give space for the audience to ask questions. It would be an open film that would involve the viewers.
He has deliberately chosen not to show, for example, torture scenes.
I had no interest in that. I used sound instead – things happen outside the picture. There are a few clips from a video game. It clearly shows what it looks like in a society where everything is destroyed.
Now Millet is looking forward to experiencing something that was just a utopia a few months ago – an official cinema premiere for the film in Syria.
Age: 40 years.
Lives: In Paris.
Occupation: Screenwriter, director.
Previous films: "La disparition".
Currently with: "Cold Track", which will have its Swedish cinema premiere on 31/1.
