'Facing War': An Extraordinary Documentary on NATO

 

Gulliksen filming NATO meeting and trying to stay 'invisible'

It's apropos given NATO's current huge crises over the Ukraine debacle that a new documentary film, 'Facing War', which opens March 19th at the Copenhagen DOX film festival, allows viewers a behind the scenes peek at the military alliance's inner workings.

Working alone, Tommy Gulliksen, after many months of trying, got access into the inner sanctum of NATO and its chief, Jens Stoltenberg. Gulliksen took over 200 hours of raw footage over 22 months of filming and boiled it all down to a 100-minute docu - that immerses the viewer into the power plays between the political and military leaders of our world. 

The film is remarkably timely given the current Ukraine/Russian War. "I knew that getting an independent camera in the war room would be unprecedented and tough, but I never gave up. Perhaps, at a time of fake news and mistrust of the media we were seen as transparent. I eventually signed an agreement which was very open and had few restrictions to filming and editing" says Gulliksen. "I had to become a fly-on-the-wall. I had to do everything myself - camera work, sound, setup, everything."

Gulliksen filming Stoltenberg on NATO surveillance plane

'Facing War' captures what isn't normally accessible and nothing was staged. Gulliksen leaves it up to the audience to make up their minds on what they see - pro or con NATO.

I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to view this film, but I'll make every effort to do so. It's a one-of-a-kind, behind-the-scenes look on the masters of the world in which we live.

By: Jim Lavorato