- Title: USA: Benazir Bhutto documentary premieres at Sundance
- Date: 25th January 2010
- Summary: PARK CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 24, 2010) (REUTERS) BHUTTO FAMILY ENTERING ARRIVAL LINE FOR THE PREMIERE PAN OF VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE BHUTTO FAMILY WIDE SHOT OF FAMILY (SOUNDBITE) (English) "BHUTTO" CO-DIRECTOR JESSICA HERNANDEZ SAYING: "I think one of the best interview lines is we had was that there is no straight line in Pakistan everything is a circle. That is what really tried to show you here is that there is no one answer. So, we tried to give you all sides and try to decided for yourselves. Not even Johnny or I know what happens in Pakistan. (SOUNDBITE) (English) "BHUTTO" CO-DIRECTOR JOHNNY O'HARA SAYING: "In a way, different audience members will have a different opinion on the entire thing. There are many unsolved mysteries in this film and may forever remain unsolved. That is part of what makes it so interesting." STEWART COPELAND WHO COMPOSED "DILA TEER BIJA" FEATURED IN "BHUTTO" (SOUNDBITE) (English) STEWART COPELAND ON BENAZIR BHUTTO SAYING: "She really is in that world, for a woman to rise to that level of leadership is pretty stunning right there. To have such an impact, usually you have once you get there you are constrained by this traditionalist society. For her to bust through and actually achieve stuff, she was a hell of a woman." (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRODUCER DUANE BAUGHMAN SAYING: "I am most excited about being able to see the family see their mother in a way that way the world will see. That makes me very proud." (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARK SIEGEL, CO-AUTHOR WITH BENAZIR BHUTTO, "DAUGHTER OF DESTINY," SAYING: "She was an extraordinary woman. She did great things and would have gone on to do even greater things. There will always be that road not taken, we will never know like John Kennedy's second term or what Sadat could have done if he had lived. I think what Benazir Bhutto could have done in terms of Islam and the West would have been extraordinary."
- Embargoed: 9th February 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: People
- Reuters ID: LVA4XXW7KH5SA94M3Y0NJRP3UCR7
- Story Text: Family members of Pakistan's slain former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, attend world premiere of the documentary film "Bhutto."
Family members of Pakistan's slain former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, arrived at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday (January 23) for the world premiere of the documentary film "Bhutto."
The documentary details the complex story of the first woman ever elected to lead a Muslim state, who would later be struck down by an assassin.
Co-directors Johnny O'Hara and Jessica Hernandez faced the challenge of weaving the many layers of the Benazir Bhutto story, one that reads like a Shakespearian tragedy.
The film casts an unblinking eye on Bhutto and Pakistan, the Muslim world's sole nuclear power. Beloved by the people in Pakistan, Bhutto was also despised by the military establishment and the the male-dominated ruling class. Her turbulent three-decade run through the storm of Pakistani politics provides a canvas for drama, intrigue and debate behind Bhutto's incredible story.
"I think one of the best interview lines is we had was that there is no straight line in Pakistan, everything is a circle," said Hernandez. "That is what really tried to show you here is that there is no one answer. So, we tried to give you all sides and try to decided for yourselves. Not even Johnny or I know what happens in Pakistan."
"In a way, different audience members will have a different opinion on the entire thing," added O'Hara. "There are many unsolved mysteries in this film and may forever remain unsolved. That is part of what makes it so interesting."
For Duane Baughman, the producer and the driving force behind getting the documentary completed, the payoff was getting a chance to preserve the legacy of Bhutto.
"I am most excited about being able to see the family see their mother in a way that way the world will see. That makes me very proud," said Baughman, a veteran political consultant who became consumed by the Bhutto story.
In the end, the documentary leaves the viewer with the challenge of debating how the path of history would have changed had Bhutto lived to see her destiny.
"She was an extraordinary woman," said Mark Siegel, co-author with Benazir Bhutto, on her autobiography "Daughter of Destiny."
"She did great things and would have gone on to do even greater things. There will always be that road not taken, we will never know like John Kennedy's second term or what Sadat could have done if he had lived. I think what Benazir Bhutto could have done in terms of Islam and the West would have been extraordinary."
The Sundance Film Festival is the premiere independent film venue in the U.S. It runs through January 31. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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