Facing War Tommy Gulliksen’s Facing War follows Jens Stoltenberg within the remaining yr of his decade-long stint as Secretary General of NATO, a place he’d been trying ahead to relinquishing till, in 2023, President Biden requested him to remain on for one more 12 months. And it’s simple to see why. The energetic, glad-handing, back-slapping politico appears to deal with each world chief as his absolute favourite bestie (Emmanuel! Viktor!), whilst he strategizes along with his comms workforce to textual content the proper thanks reply. (Though that’s most likely commonplace working process for each commander pressured to take care of Trump.)
And but this former Prime Minister of Norway is so personable and sincerely dedicated to his trigger that each canine and pony present comes throughout as downright real — a essential talent for the job, as is having fun with the extremely choreographed pomp and circumstance. (The latter is profit not given to the non-elite staff toiling away in obscurity behind the scenes. Luckily, Gulliksen does catch a number of oddball moments that pierce the charade, like a guard standing at consideration in full state regalia who can’t appear to stifle a yawn, or the frantic girl in Lithuania, vacuum cleaner strapped to her again, clumsily speeding to wash the crimson carpet.) For whether or not it’s bartering with Erdoğan in an effort to welcome Sweden into the alliance, or convincing Orbán to easily stand down whereas the remainder of the members deal with Ukraine’s bid to hitch, the stakes for all are simply too excessive.
A number of days earlier than Facing War opened this yr’s CPH:DOX, Filmmaker reached out to the Norwegian director (who co-produced the batshit Laibach-in-North-Korea doc Liberation Day again in 2016) to learn the way he acquired such phenomenal entry to the NATO “war room,” in addition to what was strictly off-limits to his lens.
Filmmaker: So how did this mission originate? Was Stoltenberg onboard from the beginning, or did it take some convincing?
Gulliksen: The dialogue was truly initiated by my producer Anne Marte Blindheim. She had recognized Stoltenberg for years, first as a political journalist at Dagbladet, the place he was certainly one of her sources. That present relationship helped open the door, however getting full entry nonetheless required time and negotiation.
We had a number of conferences with Stoltenberg’s workforce and even traveled to NATO Headquarters in Brussels to formally pitch our method. I feel Stoltenberg and his advisors realized that they have been holding vital positions at a pivotal second in historical past, with immense obligations on their shoulders, and that this work ought to be documented. We, in fact, agreed. I feel each Stoltenberg and NATO wished to offer the viewers transparency into decision-making throughout wartime and that it was within the service of public curiosity. But even with that shared understanding, it nonetheless took time to realize their belief and set up the extent of entry we wanted.
Filmmaker: Yes, you have been granted a rare quantity of entry, which made me marvel if Stoltenberg is at all times this open to the media trailing him. Had you filmed with him earlier than?
Gulliksen: My producer and I truly labored with him in 2017, after we made a documentary sequence about all the present residing Norwegian Prime Ministers, so we had a foundation of belief and we knew one another.
Stoltenberg has at all times been media-savvy — he understands how the press works, and he’s a extremely expert communicator. But what we have been doing was one thing solely totally different. He is used to coping with media day by day, however he’s additionally used to having the ability to management when the cameras are rolling and once they’re not. With us that line was blurred.
This mission was about filming once they weren’t accustomed to having an unbiased digital camera current — capturing moments that weren’t scripted or staged for public messaging. That stage of fixed statement was new for him. He had been filmed earlier than, notably by Norwegian documentary filmmaker Aslaug Holm when he first rose to energy as prime minister within the early 2000s. But I don’t assume he initially realized the sheer extent of what we have been going to current on this mission. Once they let me in, I used to be laborious to eliminate. And none of us anticipated that his time period as Secretary General can be prolonged for one more yr, which meant filming lasted two years as an alternative of 1.
Filmmaker: Your proximity to Stoltenberg likewise allowed you to rise up near a who’s who of world leaders — Macron, Orbán, Erdoğan, Zelensky, Biden, to call just some. Which made me curious as to what was off-limits to the digital camera. What boundaries did you must navigate?
Gulliksen: There have been clear authorized boundaries concerning NATO’s top-secret conferences, particularly navy conferences — I couldn’t be in these rooms. But aside from that I had outstanding entry to Stoltenberg and his advisors, particularly when it got here to getting ready and discussing agendas, methods and politics, which I used to be most considering.
The greatest obstacles have been, in fact, different heads of state. Each chief needed to determine for themselves whether or not they have been snug being filmed. Some have been extra open than others. My method was easy: I simply saved rolling till I used to be advised to cease. And over time, I grew to become higher at staying within the room longer and longer. It was a means of mastering the artwork of being unnoticeable, studying function on this surroundings with out disrupting the stream of diplomacy. Getting together with bodyguards is essential! And even studying transfer and assume like them helped me lots.
Filmmaker: I’m additionally questioning how a lot footage you truly shot with Stoltenberg and what was left on the slicing room flooring. Were there scenes or storylines you simply didn’t have time to incorporate?
Gulliksen: We shot over 600 hours of footage throughout 27 nations. During enhancing we centered on discovering the timeless components inside that materials — the moments that wouldn’t simply be related now, but in addition in a yr, in ten years, and even longer.
We weren’t attempting to make a information report or a historic explainer. Instead we wished to carve out an attractive story that would mirror our occasions and assist future generations perceive theirs. That meant we needed to be extraordinarily selective. We averted an excessive amount of exposition about NATO and European historical past, and many others.; as an alternative going for a cinema verité type the place the viewers can observe and choose folks and occasions as they seem in entrance of the digital camera.
There are positively scenes left on the slicing room flooring which may change into traditionally vital later. We merely had no approach of understanding that right now. But that’s the character of documentary filmmaking — you must make decisions primarily based on the story you’ll be able to see unfolding within the current. It was an extended intense course of, and I owe a lot to my three editors for shaping the ultimate narrative.
Filmmaker: Since Stoltenberg was born into politics, and spent his entire profession in that highlight, it’s not all that shocking that he’s extremely media savvy. (Though he additionally retains his household firmly away from the glare. Besides a number of early dwelling motion pictures and a glimpse of his spouse after an awards ceremony, we aren’t actually aware about his private life in any respect.) So did you ever really feel he was making an attempt to manage the narrative? Did you talk about tough cuts alongside the best way?
Gulliksen: Our aim was at all times to painting the Secretary General, not Jens Stoltenberg the personal particular person. What me most was the diplomat, the politician, the facility dealer — not his private life. He was very open in letting me movie, even on his birthday, however that wasn’t the main target of the movie.
I do know that he personally prefers extra conventional, fact-based documentaries — historical past movies with skilled interviews and archival footage — however he by no means tried to push me in that route. He by no means demanded to see tough cuts or tried to take editorial management.
The actuality is, in his surroundings, issues transfer so quick and the stakes are so excessive that they don’t have time to consider a documentary filmmaker following them. Once I used to be granted entry the choice was made, and I simply grew to become a part of the decor. I confirmed them some tough cuts of scenes throughout the course of to make them perceive how I labored, and that helped. It additionally made me extra assured that they have been snug with my technique.
I watched the ultimate movie with him and his spouse, and so they each appreciated it. In reality, I feel she appreciated it much more. That was an fascinating second for me — realizing that, although the movie wasn’t about their personal lives, it nonetheless supplied a aspect of him that his circle of relatives hardly ever sees.
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