Set in the early 1990s during the Bosnian War 'The Tourist' tells the story of Mike, a young banker who escapes the mundane by travelling to Bosnia at weekends in order to kill people as an amateur sniper.
Mike is not alone, a colleague and best friend Brad and a select group of like-minded assassins exist for those with the inclination and money. Mike becomes involved with a Bosnian refugee and as their relationship develops and he becomes more embroiled in the war his perspective starts to shift - bringing him into conflict with Brad and his former comrades in arms.
In this deconstruction of the war movie genre 'The Tourist' explores the gulf between Western Societies view of violence and war, and those who have first hand experience of it.
Tom Petch the Director and writer of The Tourist was originally told the story as an 'urban myth' - that non-combatants, in the story wealthy individuals, had been travelling to Bosnia to kill people for fun during the war. This resonated with his own experiences - Petch met one American fighting with the Armija BiH (Bosnian Muslim Army) who described himself as a 'mercenary', He knew of one British Territorial Paratrooper (i.e. part-time) who was courts martialled for travelling to Bosnia to take part in the fighting - and he knew these individuals were not alone.
The whole war had a 'weekend warrior' feel to it - German car registrations from as far as Munich were regularly seen in the war zone - the owners could have come from the former Yugoslavia, but the accessibility of the war zone - both in terms of distance to major European centres, and the porous nature of the borders made access to and from Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia easy for those with money and motive.
Tom Petch Writer/Director
Tom Petch spent eight years in the British Army including service in the Special Forces, operations in Bosnia, Cambodia and Northern Ireland and passed Junior Staff College. He left the military with the rank of Captain. On leaving the British Army in 1997 Tom attended National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield (UK) and has since written and directed a number of short films - the most recent 'Low Street' (2003) receiving international acclaim and appearing in the Soho Rushes, Raindance, Foyle and LA Film Festivals. Tom currently directs commercials in the UK. 'The Tourist', his first feature script, draws heavily on his experiences on active duty during the Bosnian war.
David Kennaway Producer
Son of the acclaimed scriptwriter James Kennaway ('Tunes of Glory' & 'The Battle of Britain') David has worked in the industry for over 15 years, producing his first film 'The Rocket Post' in 2001 with Ultimate Pictures. The Tourist will be his second film as producer. David now heads up the film division of Spargo Productions Plc one of the UK's most innovate multi media companies. Based in West London Spargo has been in the forefront of film music publishing and animation, and now has a number of feature film projects in development, of which the first, 'The Tourist' is in pre-production.
Marija Karan |
Tom Hardy |
Spargo Productions Plc is a leading UK multi media production company who recently produced a new series of the classic British animation series now broadcasting on Disney Playhouse in Europe. Spargo is producing three major films following up The Tourist with The Lovely Sergeant, the story of Flora Sandes, a nurse in the first world war who became the highest decorated woman soldier in recent history. Founded by music publisher Tim Hollier and animator Bobbie Spargo, the Company is now a major force in UK film and animation production as well as a leading independent film music publisher. The Film division headed by David Kennaway will be in Cannes presenting its current productions.
Spargo Productions Plc Units 5-6 Parkside, Ravenscourt Park, London W6OUU Tel: +44 (0)208 563 2244 info@spargoproductions.com