Search Film, Company, People...

THE ASSIGNMENT

By Neil BELL

MARIFILMAS (SEPT ELEPHANTS) - as PROD

Thriller - Pre-Production 2018

THE ASSIGNMENT is a political action drama and a personal story about a journalist who loses his desire
to live yet somehow through his harrowing experiences, as a hostage he discovers his will to live. It is
about a man of very few emotions yet when confronted by the convictions of his Chechen

- Year of production
- 2018
- Genres
- Thriller
- Countries
- GERMANY, SWEDEN, USA, RUSSIA
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Budget
- 3 - 5 M$
- Duration
- 120 mn
- Director(s)
- Neil BELL
- Writer(s)
- Igor HERTZEV, Neil BELL
- Cast
- Adrien BRODY, Gosha KUTSENKO
- Producer(s)
- Marco GILLES (Gilles·Mann filmproduktion), Tom GARRETT (Seven Sundays), Marina KOZHEVNIKOVA RAVIE (Marifilmas)
- Synopsis
- BRIEF SUMMARY
  'The Assignment' is a ﬁlm about a German journalist who is in Tbilisi in Georgia for his
  television channel to ﬁlm the atrocities of the recent Georgia Russia war but is kidnapped by
  a Chechen rebel and forced to make a documentary of the Chechen war. As a journalist he
  has the opportunity to make the greatest ﬁlm in his life, discover himself and ﬁll the
  emptiness that lies within him but at what cost?
  PLOT OUTLINE
  Some year's back, Chris lost his desire to live after his son died and began to drink. Despite
  his alcoholism, Chris, a journalist of the British TV channel "Choice", has a good career. His
  wife, Ingrid wants to adopt a child, but Chris is not sure. Chris travels to a refugee camp
  outside Tbilisi accompanied by his camera operator Robert to ﬁlm the refugees living at the
  camp. Upon returning to his Tbilisi hotel, Chris accidentally meets Akhmad, a Chechen rebel
  who suggests to Chris that he make a ﬁlm to show the injustices of the Chechen war but
  Chris declines as he on his way back to London. On their way to the airport they are
  kidnapped by Chechen rebels upon Akhmad's orders and taken to a training camp where
  they meet Akhmad once again as he now re-introduces himself as their new producer. They
  travel to Chechnya through the Caucuses to support the group headed by Akhmad's father,
  Mohammed.
  They cross the Chechen Georgian border in the dead of night. They travel through forests
  and several destroyed villages and in one such village they are ambushed by Russian
  soldiers. In the ensuing ﬁreﬁght Chris kills a Russian soldier.
  They arrive at Vakha's house, a former Chechen freedom ﬁghter living near the border with
  his granddaughter. Vakha has lost his children in the war. Akhmad leaves behind a large
  armaments cache at his house. Chris gradually understands Akhmad's grievances against
  the Russians after witnessing the brutality and the destruction caused by them in Chechnya.
  When the group arrive at Mohammed's camp, they ﬁnd it scorched. In his rage, Akhmad
  seizes a hospital building in a Chechen village and demands the release of his father. When
  he ﬁnds out that his father is dead, Akhmad loses control and kills some of the hostages and
  demands the return of his father's body and a bus for their getaway. Taking the remaining
  hostages with them they board the bus and escape. Upon entering the edge of a forest they
  are ambushed and the bus overturns. They leave the hostages in the bus and run into the
  forest. Robert, refusing to carry Mohammed’s corpse any longer is shot and killed by
  Akhmad. Akhmad and Chris continue running deeper into the forest, but Akhmad
  suffering from a fatal gunshot wound dies soon afterwards. Chris ﬁlms him as he dies and
  buries them all.
  Exhausted, Chris follows the trail back to the Chechen Georgian border and after some time
  arrives back at Vakha's house. Vakha welcomes Chris to his house. Vakha does not
  understand English and Chris understands neither Chechen nor Russian. He damns the
  war. Chris tells him about how he lost his son.
  The Russian militia eager to get hold of Chris' ﬁlm footage track him to Vakha’s house the
  next day. Aizani, Vakha's granddaughter hides Chris in the woods, but the militia ﬁnd the
  hidden ammunition left at the house by Akhmad and Chris' SD cards. Vakha argues with
  the soldiers and they kill him. Chris buries Vakha and leaves with Aizani for the Georgian
  border.
- Partners & financing
- Gilles·Mann filmproduktion
  RABOTAT HB
- Production schedule
- Gilles·Mann filmproduktion