Cannes FF 2004
Taormina BNL 2004
Salento IFF 2004
Rome IFF 2004
Belgrade IFF 2004
Warsaw IFF 2004
Tursak IFF 2004
Soeul IFF 2004
Dubrovnik FF 2005
PIFF Slovenia 2005
Auckland Human Rights FF 2005
NY Ind.FF IFF 2005
Bradford IFF 2005
London Human Rights IFF 2005
James Christopher, The Times at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2004.
“It's a harrowing story, told with raw energy and emotion. He's one of the most filmmakers i have never worked with! Reiss's first feature film puts an historic event into the confines of a truck journey, and rarely releases us from the claustrophobia.” Antonio Bandaras, Taormina BNL, 2004
"This is one of the most interesting and high quality film festivals events around and the British selection of movies draws primarily on the small-scale. Not that Saul Dibb's street gang exposé, Bullet Boy; and Andi Reiss' refugee drama, Cargo... don't pack a punch."
David Parkinson, BBC writing on The Bradford Film Festival, 2005. The Guardian
Starring Daniela Nardini, Heathcote Williams, Velibor Topic and Jonathan Sidgwick,Cargo is Andi's first feature film, and a tense drama-documentary set against the horrors of the Balkan Wars. It has received critical acclaim internationally.
The film screened in Cannes, then opened the Taormina Film Festival in June 2004, and has subsequently screened in competition at 15 international film festivals. It is being sold through Content International, screened on cable in the United States in September 2007, and has been broadcast in over 100 countries since, courtesy by the Sparrowhawk Media Group. It is yet to be screened in the United Kingdom.
"The less British Politicians want to discuss the asylum issue,the keener British Directors are to make films about them. One man's hot potato is another's hot ticket."
Catherine Shoard - The Sunday Telegraph, 2005
"Cargo is a very brave film because it's different from the 'theme park' or 'get your kit off' movies we seem to make in Britain. It really impacts on your mind, stirs you, wakes you up and provokes all kinds of feelings that films these days rarely do. And the performances are terrific. "
Steven Berkoff - writer/director, 2005
"It was too painful to call enjoyable, but I was impressed. It's very valuable to have the real life of refugees so graphically brought home to us. It reminds me of the Satre quote “ Hell is other people”. Daniela Nardini was superb,as expected. Reminded me of a Ken Loach piece - Cathy come Home - it's intense and poignant."
Dr Fiona Dexbury - academic,Refugee Council.
"After a period of taking stock, I decided to seek out low-budget high-integrity movies such as Cargo. You take a real downer turn on the wage front by doing such features, but I find it more stimulating, I'm happier now and I feel more alive for having done it. Andi is an imaginative and thought provoking director at every stage of the process and he works with an actor with sensivity and humour . He has a vision which is clearly understandable from the start and this makes everyone confident." Daniela Nardini
Interview with Writer/Director Andi Reiss on Cargo for the BBC at the Bradford Film Festival 2005
DP: Cargo is a very personal project, yes?
AR: And I'm delighted that it is screening in competition at so many international festivals around the world, since, hopefully people will watch this film, which is based upon a series of true stories, and see just how fragile the human condition is and how desperate we can become in the hands of tryanny. The film is the intense tale of four refugees escaping from Croatia to the UK in the back of a lorry in the early 1990's – at the height of the Balkan wars. But are they genuine refugees, persecuted by likes of Milosovic, or are they impulsive opportunists - out to sponge off the state for an easier life elsewhere?
DP: Tell me about the shoot.
AR: We shot the bulk of this film in only fourteen days in January 2003 at Pinewood Studios and then spent the next year shooting additional scenes,mixing and editing the vital 'war footages', kindly provided by George Stamkowski. We made the film on a budget of £70,000 and would not have done so without a commitment from everyone involved that was second to none. Perhaps more importantly, it was the script and the story (based upon a stageplay by Ben Richards that I found at the Edinburgh Festival) that has remained in my head.
DP: Did you have a particular vision for this film?
AR: Absolutely, in order to maintain focus on the valuable dialogue in the film and to make the most of an inspirational cast, I knew from the start that if I decided to keep away from camera tricks and intense special effects, it would work. So the style of the movie is simple - I mostly employ mid shots and close ups because the drama rarely leaves the confines of the lorry and as the real emphasis was on capturing the actors' performances to convey the story and not to merely showcase the latest crane camera angle, it was important to focus on what lies behind the dimensional structure.
DP: How would you like to see this film fare?
AR: Politically. I hope Cargo emphasises that refugees, regardless of where they have come from or from what economic scenario they are escaping, are nothing if not exhausted people hunted by a human rights repugnance that is a major global concern. The debates and arguments will continue, but recently, according to the ruling on a test case in the High Court, the UK Government have failed to offer basic help to three asylum seekers contravened - Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is a wise decision by the courts. The ruling recognises that basic human rights and needs must always be met and although it is a pity that people on the breadline like this have had to go to court to have these basic rights upheld, it's the beginning of the end, I hope, of blatant discrimination. And unless common sense is applied to laws like this in the future, the laws themselves will become discredited and then everybody suffers.
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Damia – Heathcote Williams
Branko – Velibor Topic
Mira – Daniela Nardini
Ivan – Jonathan Sidgwick
Chef - Damir Koluder
Deli Assistant - Melinda Hart
Lorry Driver - Mark White
Gruff Man 1 - Steve Isles
Gruff Man 2 - Andy Correlli
Gruff Man 3 - Jonathan Duff
Border Guard - Dado Jehan
Soldier 1 - Zlatko Pranjic
Soldier 2 - Sharif Sakr
Soldier 3 - Vladimir Stocanovic
Tess O’Shea & Bhaskar Kingdon-O’Shea
Poem read by Bianca Kingdon-O’Shea
Mira's Husband - Nickoli Nardini
Crew
Cinematographer - Paul Wheeler BSC
2nd Unit Cinematographer - Boyd Skinner
Steadicam Operator - Adam Lincoln
1st Camera Assistant - Lucy Piper
2nd Camera Assistant - Tom Evans
1st Assistant Director - Pier Van Tijn
2nd Assistant Director - Mike Longhurst
Gaffer - Gary Willis
Electrician - Andy Milner
Sound Operator - John Burns
Boom Operator - Michael Onder
Sound Design - Simon Lambros
Additional Sound Design - Scott Parker
Production Designer - Christophe Spurling
Special Effects - Mark White
Design Assistant - Matt Sanders
Make Up and Costumes - Anita Desmarais
Production Assistants
Davina Shah
Susie MacLelland
Louisa D’Arcy
Liz Waite
Robert Cox
Rupert Jones
Roland Storm
Tom Cull
Claudio Rossi
Martin Simpson
Medical Services - The Medical Centre
Unit Nurse - Paula Oehlers
Stills Photography - Oli Green
Stills Assistant - Sean Daniels
Music composed/performed by Simon Lambros
and Steve Isles
‘Mira’s Song’ performed by Joy Christiana
‘'Sunny Day’performed by Steve Isles
and Inhale
Catering - London Catering Service
Production Accountant - Kewal Gupta
Editors - Xavier Russell
Zuleika Kingdon
Adrian Spencer
Chester Chipperfield
Associate Producers
Anita Desmarais/Andi Reiss
Co-Producer- Stuart Fenegan
Producer - Karen Vaughan
Producer - Louis Melville
Executive Producer - Tudor Jones
Written by
Tudor Jones, Andi Reiss,Ben Richards
Directed by Andi Reiss