A group of civil servants, including the Minister of Defence, meet for three days to practice the crisis protocol that needs to be followed during a nuclear attack.
The tense War Book, which takes place in a single room, throws up all manner of political and moral dilemmas of great relevance in this time of crisis (think ISIS, Ebola, the Ukraine): who should be helped first (and why); how to ration food and medicines; whether to cooperate with the USA or not; and crucially, when to unleash the completely destructive power of atomic weapons?
Personal preferences and prejudices play a role in the increasingly heated discussions that light up the strong ensemble cast, with Sophie Okenodo as the Chair and Ben Chaplin as a smooth-operating advisor. The provocative screenplay is based on information released in 2009: during the Cold War, British civil servants did in fact consult on possible ‘war books’.
- Director
- Tom Harper
- Premiere
- International premiere
- Country of production
- United Kingdom
- Year
- 2014
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2015
- Length
- 93'
- Medium
- DCP
- Language
- English
- Producers
- Lauren Dark, Tom Harper
- Production Companies
- Sixteen Films, Archer's Mark
- Sales
- K5 International
- Screenplay
- Jack Thorne, Jack Thorne
- Cinematography
- Zac Nicholson
- Editor
- Mark Eckersley
- Production Design
- Jacqueline Abrahams
- Music
- Jack C. Arnold
- Cast
- Sophie Okonedo, Kerry Fox, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Phoebe Fox, Ben Chaplin
- Website
- http://sixteenfilms.co.uk