Richie Smyth. You may not know his name, but you know his work. One of Ireland’s most acclaimed music video and commercial directors, Smyth’s work takes on global appeal from his direction of music videos for U2, The Verve, Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge and others, to commercial advertising for brands like Nike, Macy’s Pepsi and Guinness. But now Smyth raises his own bar as he moves into feature film direction. And not just with any feature film. This is a story rooted in Irish history, a story known to some but never spoken about; that is, until Richie Smyth discovered it. That story is THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE.
Making the jump from music videos and television commercials is relatively commonplace. But it’s jumping from the music video and commercial world into the telling of a true story, complete with large cast, location shooting, battle sequences and staging, plus the film’s subjects being still very much alive, that make Smyth’s leap of faith with THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE as his feature directorial debut that much greater.
Unknown to most is the story of the 1961 post-Colonial siege at Jadotville in The Congo in which Irish battalion A-Company held off a five day attack by 3000 Katangese secessionists and mercenaries, and despite being out-manned and out-gunned, lost none of their men. The Republic of the Congo was newly formed and its rich seam of uranium, along with other minerals in the Katanga province, were the heart’s desire of many of the world’s super powers. On Moise Tshombe’s (Danny Sapani) seizing control of the country, UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold (Mikael Persbrandt) called on Ireland’s Conor Cruise O’Brien (Mark Strong) to lead peace talks, while placing 150 Irish soldiers led by Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan) in the region as a UN peacekeeping force.
Take a listen now to this exclusive interview as as Richie and I delve into the making of THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE, including but not limited to:
- Optioning of the story
- The history of mercenaries, from the Pinkertons in Ireland to mercs today in Yemen and Afghanistan, and the excitement on discovering the nugget of JADOTVILLE
- Casting Mark Strong and Jamie Dornan (a pre-“Fifty Shades” discovery)
- Lensing in South Africa and working with cinematographer Nikolaus Summerer in using the country’s distinctive light as well as staging battle scenes and the importance of judicious lens selection
- Importance of color palette
- Working with screenwriter Kevin Brodpin in adapting Declan Power’s book
- Considerations in telling a true chapter in history with its subjects still alive. Do you use them as a resource? Ask for input? Richie’s answer might surprise you!
- Joe Trapanese scoring and the importance of music to THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE
- Why this story? This film? Why now?
- Cinematic influences
THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE is directed by Richie Smyth, written by Kevin Brodpin based on the book by Declan Power and stars Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt, Jason O’Mara and Danny Sapani.
