Awards: British Independent Film Awards and
Stockholm Film Festival kudos for "The Last King of Scotland";
European Film Awards wins for "28 Days Later" and
"Dogville."
Tools: Because of the coin constraints typical
on European films, Dod Mantle had to get crafty to stay within the producers'
budget and still be able to lense the pic the way he wanted to. His celluloid
solution was to mix film formats. "Mixing 16mm and 35mm I felt was better
than going pure 16 because it wasn't just about the lights, it was about
getting close to the madness of Idi (Amin), getting close to his face, really
seeing the bubbling eyeballs," says Dod Mantle. He ended up shooting on
the Aaton Minima, the Aaton Super in Super 16mm and the Arricam LT on 35mm.
Everything was shot on Kodak film. "The idea was to find a kind of texture
that was appropriate, finding texture that had slightly more grain and had
slight grit to it, which I thought was appropriate to the story as we traveled
deeper and deeper into the depths and demise of Idi's domain."
Aesthetic: The dramatic jump from dreary Scotland to
the bright and colorful countryside of Uganda was achieved by burning out the
corners in the pictures, "almost like an old burnt-out postcard,"
says Dod Mantle, who was heavily inspired by Cesar Charlone's work on
"City of God." "There is a panache and a sheen to '70s Uganda.
It was quite a sophisticated time there. People were quite wealthy. It was a
success period on the surface, anyway. And we tried to look at that and
brighten the colors. ... Gradually as (Nicholas Garrigan) starts to get sucked
into that world more and more, I start to work more with cyan and deep reds. I
actually changed the stocks, moved the speed of the stock and changed my
lighting for the birth and as they go to the hospital and the horrible things
there. Basically go darker and darker and end up as dark as you can possibly
go."
Visual references: "I think the only direct reference
that (director) Kevin (Macdonald) and I had as far as visuals were concerned
was looking at not just the horror, but looking at the surprising panache of
this African country amidst this feared but not publicized chaos. You feared
what's going on. At the beginning it was hidden; at the end it was just
blatant. It was in front of your face, in front of every building, people were
being shot on street corners. I think we were struck by these images of real Uganda."
Challenges: Contrasting characters. "I think
it's hard when your (protagonists are) a very, very pale Scot (James McAvoy)
and a dark-skinned Forest (Whitaker). Actually we made him darker, and that is
a challenge. And they are in the shot together so often."
What's next: Recently shot a Thomas Vinterberg film
called "A Man Comes Home" and just finished working with Lone
Scherfig on the pic "Hjemve." Also completed "Trip to Asia: The
Quest for Harmony," directed by Thomas Grube.