Bird's Eye View

Mugabe and the White African: An interview with Lucy Bailey

The theatrical poster for "Mugabe and the White African" which is released in the UK January 8th 2010

Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 2008 presidential election, Mugabe and the White African follows Mike and son-in-law Ben Freeth’s harrowing attempt to take Mugabe to an international court for racism and violation of their human rights. It is an unprecedented case, upon which rests not only Mike and his family’s future, but also the future of millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who continue to suffer.

BEV were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with Lucy Bailey, who co-directed the film with Andrew Thompson.

The film, which has already won a BIFA Award 2009, Sterling Grand Jury Prize and Hamptons Film Festival Special Jury Prize has just been shortlisted  for an Oscar and is on UK release from January 8th.  Find out where it is screening here.

CC: How did you first hear about Mike Campbell and his family’s story and what attracted you to want to tell it in a documentary?

LB: We (my co-director and DOP Andrew Thompson) and I  have both done a lot of filming in Africa and spend loads of time there. I was actually filming for Comic Relief in South Africa, and noticed the many political refugees coming over the border from Zimbabwe - we knew what was happening inside Zimbabwe was a story we wanted to tell - but we also knew it would be near impossible given the total press ban.  It was while we were in South Africa that we heard about this farmer who was going to be taking Mugabe to the SADC tribunal, and we thought, wow, one man takes on a president, and brave enough to take on a dictator like Mugabe - now that’s a story.  It was then through this intimate story and the court case that we could tell the bigger picture of what was happening inside Zimbabwe.

You must have spent a lot of time with the family, how did your relationship with them develop?

The family are just fantastic and have become true friends now as we’ve shared their lives over the past two years.  They had to trust us, and allow us into their lives at very difficult times (including very real life and death situations) during the filming part of the process, and I think that trust on both side shows in the access and the end result of the film.  Their bravery is astounding, they never gave up hope and they carried on and so we carried on too, even through at times we thought none of us would survive the filming process!

"Unsparing..as an example of courage beyond the call, Inspiring" FT

The film tells such an emotional story, did you find yourself on an emotional journey?

Yes definitely -  the film became our lives, it’s like living an emotional roller coaster, never really knowing what might happen next.  There were several occasions when I cried for the family, and cried with them.  There were also times when I felt like we’d taken on too much, that it was all just too much!

The action of the film takes place over a number of months.  How long did it take to complete the film and what were key events in its coming to be?

The very first bit of filming was in December 07 and the very last bit of filming was the court result in Dec 08.  The edit began in September 08 and went on to January 09 with the post production finishing in March 09.  Originally we thought we’d have the actual filming  done and dusted by April 08, but because the of the elections in Zimbabwe and the fact the court case kept getting postponed it went on and on - it became a more complex but much better film as a result of the unfolding events which were completely out of our control.

"Superb... Thought-provoking, distressing, shockingly tense" - Time Out

What was it like to be filming covertly in such a dangerous environment?

It required a lot of careful planning and logistics, for example coming up with cover stories, and using code language.  Luckily we both had extensive experience working in hostile environments, and we had good knowledge and experience of Africa which was essential.   We had  a good network of fixers in neighbouring countries whom we worked very closely with.  We had to smuggle equipment and ourselves in and out of the country.  We were constantly juggling the risks to get the story and not get ourselves thrown into prison.

It is very powerful that the family tell the story themselves, what informed the decision for them to tell it?

I think it is much more filmic to let the characters tell the story through the unfolding action, it’s documentary filming at its strongest and most raw.  I personally think to have any ‘narration’ feels more like a TV documentary, and we wanted to make a movie for the big screen, a real life drama  that would compete with the best Hollywood drama.

Can you tell us a little bit about the process of editing the footage and the choice of music used?

I’d worked with our fantastic editor Tim Lovell a lot before (making appeal films for Comic Relief)  Tim is a strong story teller but also is able to create great atmosphere with the right rushes: there is something about the combination of myself, Tim and Andrew’s rushes  that really works!  The edit was tough as it was complex due to the fact we had to bring the audience up to speed with what had been happening in Zimbabwe  and make this work with the action and actuality sequences.  The court case became the spine to the film and with the help of our producer David Pearson we wove the drama in.  David has screen writing experience which was invaluable.

With regard the music, Jonny Piltcher (who plays with the band Athlete) did a fantastic job.   We wanted the music not to be culturally specific but instead to convey emotions that transcend ethnicity or race, so that the film could reach out to any individual on an emotional level.

Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson

What do you hope to achieve with this film?

We wanted to make a challenging but beautiful film, that says something about Africa; and we set out to make the best film we could.  We have poured our creative hearts and souls into it. We hope that this film means that internationally the world wakes up to what is happening inside Zimbabwe.  It’s not so much a campaign film but a debate film.  It makes you think hard about what’s important in life; it challenges you on identity, race, faith, the essence of belonging - and what human rights are all about.  I hope it makes you question how far you would go to stand up for what you believe is right.  Someone said to me ‘your film shows the very worst and the very best of the human spirit’ -  despite the madness and sadness within what happens, I hope it is also inspiring  in terms of showing the power in each of us as individuals, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Mugabe and the White African is released on 8th January. Show your support by going to see it on its opening weekend release. For more information, vistit our First Weekenders page.