Paul Hanes, Director

I am proud to announce that, 'The Truth About Weapon's of Mass Destruction' has won the 'Best International Documentary at the Queens International Film Festival. Having many great films in the same catogory this win means a lot to me and saw my film competing against some well funded films. After achieving the Highest Rated Film at the Global Peace Film Festival in September the win at the prestigious Queens International Film Festival has proven the films appeal to United States Audiences.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Queens Organising Committe and Advisory Board for their hospitality and friendship whilst I was at the festival. I also had the opportunity to meet some of the greats of the Film, Television and Music Business through the networking breakfasts, parties and the panel discusions which proved to be an invaluble learning experience. How often would some one get the opportunity to network and learn with some of the best in the bussiness. Marie Castaldo the festival Director and founding member is a credit to the Queens Community and she has put on a great festival with the support of her wonderful team.

I was delighted that Robert Davi requested a copy of my film at the awards after party as he had heard so much about it from others at the festival talking about it. I have also had time to spend with Don and Katha Cato who are on the Festival Board and have many years expeience in the film television and broadway arena's. My time with them could only be described as a master class in the bussiness. Their latest multi award winning film 'Be My Oswald' is about to start its theatrical release in New York this month. I also got to catch up with an old friend I met at the Swansea Bay Film Festival Michael Attardi who has an oscar nominated short animation Once Upon a Christmas Village. This short is well worth seeing and you can view on his web site.

Academy Award Nominee Michael Attardi, Queens own Actor come Award winning Director Robert Davi, Queens International Film Festival Director Maria Castaldi and Paul Hanes Fouman Films with Award for Best International Documentary.

Academy Award Nominee Michael Attardi, Multi Award Winning Actress Katha Cato, Paul Hanes and Don Cato Multi Award Winning Director and Cannes Silver Medalist.

Record Industry Executive Producer and multi gold record winner David Jurman with Maria Castaldi and Paul Hanes.

Pre Festival Promotion

I am proud to announce the screening of 'The Truth About Weapon's Of Mass Destruction', at the prestigious Queens International Film Festival. See screening times for the New York event on Saturday 10th November 2007 at 4pm. If you know anyone in New York who may be interested in joining us for the film Screening  then why not pass them the link to this page. See Screening details here :-

http://www.queensfilmfestival.com/films/detail.asp?fid=145

The festival screens over 9 venues and five days from Wednesday 7th -  Sunday 9th November. I am delighted to announce that,'The Truth About Weapons of Mass Destruction' is scheduled to screen on Saturday Afternoon at the main venue of the festival. I am both excited and daunted about the company my film is keeping on this day. The film prior is one I have been looking forward to seeing for a while now and features Harrison Ford and the Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama Renaissance

See the full programme including other quality documentaries and a morning of animation here. There are some very good documentaries and films throughout the festival an I look forward to the meeting and getting to know the people who have made them at the many social events and meetings organised by the festival staff.

http://www.queensfilmfestival.com/showtimes/day.asp?day=3

After the film screenings, why not join us at The Break Bar & Billiard for a night with Drinks, Music and Billiard Games. Address: 32-08 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106. directions 

Afterwards I will be here with the rest of the festival Gang.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=3208+broadway,+Astoria,+NY+11106

free   10:00 pm | Saturday Nov 10 | Music & Billiard Games! | Venue: The Break

See more details about the festival and its amazing programme and some very talented industry people here at : -

They say:

Our mission is to create an event that appeals to both the industry and the everyday film lover. Our goal is also to open the world to the cultural and artistic wealth of Queens and create a conduit of sharing with Queens and the world at large. By acting locally and thinking globally we are striving to create a global entertainment community with roots in Queens. We want to make Queens a Mecca for independent filmmakers.

Our mission lends consideration to 5 tiers of interest: the public, youth, education, commerce, and awareness. Our development of free public events, youth initiative programs, film industry education, and networking opportunities have served to set us apart from the other hundreds of film festivals in the world. The following is the breakdown of our goals for each tier.

Public - We want to be accessible to the public at large and attend to their curiosity about the film industry with seminars and workshops that serve to enlighten them about the film industry. We also want to provide industry professionals with a forum to discuss their art and showcase their work to a diverse and engaged population while taking advantage of opportunities to network and build future projects.

If you cold make it I would love to catch up with your or your friends at the festival. If you need to email me whilst I am in New York I will try to check my email as much as possible. hanesy27@hotmail.com

Paul

On Wednesday the 30th January 2008,  I decided to start an open relationship with my Local MP Greg Hands. Only knowing that he is my Local Member of Parliament, a decent looking kind of person and a Conservative MP, I decided to voice some of my concerns with him and seek advice from him about what the government is doing in relation to the War On Terror. 

I wll endevour to post his responses here as well as discuss them. Each section of this blog will have my letter to him followed by his response and then a comment on some of what is returned. Enjoy reading my letters to my Local MP Greg Hands.

ATT: The Right Honourable MP for Hammersmith and Fulham Mr Greg Hands

I feel that the Iraqi resistance is being supported by the US in order to sustain a long and drawn out war. The longer it goes on, the more money for Halliburton and the Carlyle group. Coincidently the two main contract winners in the Iraq free for all (oil) have Bush and Cheney on the board of directors. Talk about a conflict of interest. Start a tax payer funded war and get rich of it!

See some damming evidence of how the Bush and Cheeny Companies are profiting from their contracts whilst exposing American Troops to unacceptable dangers like enemy attack whilst lining up for Hallibuton supplied meals and typhoid and other water borne diseases as well. See how they replace $90,000 trucks as a matter of recourse all paid for by the US taxpayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chXjCtkymRQ

If anyone thinks Bush won the last US election it might be time to watch Hacking Democracy an Emmy Nominated Documentary about widespread election fraud using electronic voting machines. It is based extensively on the investigative efforts of one U.S Grandmother determined to find the truth. Two election officals in volved in the recount shown in this film have been jailed for two years for election fraud.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=96D5275BA325D134

In response to Tony Benn's Stop The War Coalition appeal for support, Fourman Films have organised a fundraising screening of, The Truth About Weapons Of Mass Destruction at the Star and Shadow Cinema In Newcastle. This screening forms part of the Stop the War Coalitions programme of cultural events and you can see more about it and many other events on the Stop the war site here:- 

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=91&extmode=view&extid=180

Also see booking details at the Star and Shadow Cinema site Here:

http://www.starandshadow.org.uk/shared/february2008/ss_film.2007-09-25.6360817819/

A big thanks to Alan the Manager of the Cinema for making this all possible. Acolection will occur at the Screening for the Stop The War Coalition and Military Families Against the War. 

Be sure to invite your friends and book early to avoid dissapointment. There will be a discussion by the Director Paul Hanes at the Screening and a special screening of Adrin Neatrours "Echolalia". A short film about Aneurin Bevans 1956 speech to parliament apposing the invasion of Egypt.

See more of Adrin's Fantastic Film Work Here

http://www.crinklecut.co.uk/index.htm

The North American Film Festival Tour of The truth About Weapons Of Mass Destruction began with the Global Peace Film Festival in Orlando Florida. With a Saturday afternoon screening in one of the main venues at the festival the screening was well attended. The screening went down well with the American audience and Festival organisers said that they felt that it was great to see a film which displayed Britains role in the WMD debacle and scandalous to see what the British MOD knew and failed to tell both the American and British public. They said that they were proud to give the American Public the opportunity of accessing information which would not otherwise be covered by the mainstream media there.

Whilst non competitive the festival brings together the best films from around the world which are about peace. I as a first time documentary director, felt proud to be included in such a peer group. The film recieved a full audience and on the web based rating system the festival employed 'The Truth About Weapons of Mass Destruction' was the Top Rated film of the festival and was also the top scheduled on the web based ticketing system. 

The Global Peace Film Festival was established to utilize the power of the motion picture to further the goal of peace on earth. With a mission to expand the definition of peace beyond anti-war, ideology, activism or specific causes, the Global Peace Film Festival films and events suggest a more personal message as reflected in the daily lives of individuals and communities the world over. The GPFF presents films from around the world and global discussions that highlight the power of this extraordinary medium as it relates to new peace issues. TO see details of the good work they are doing in Orlando Florida see:-

 http://www.peacefilmfest.org/index.html

At the Swansea Bay Film Festival one of the audience members who attended the screening of The Truth About Weapons of Mass Destruction was Multi Award Winning Documentarian Boris Castro. Based in Hamburg Germany, Boris has formed his own documentary company Urban Nomad. His own Film 'Slipping Into Darkness', won the Best International Documentary Award at Swansea. It has also won other awards around the world notably the Reel Heart film festival in Canada.

http://www.myspace.com/urbannomadpictures

Always being aware of the importance of the message contained in the The Truth About Weapon Of Mass Destruction, I have maintained faith that the film would one day attract the support of someone with knowelege of editing and film making. Knowing that my film needed a spruce up, I was able to have the film shortlisted for the prize of Best UK Documentary at the Swansea Bay Film Festival and included in the Everglades Film Festival, The Independant Features Film Festival, and shown as part of a 'Must see triple Bill' at the Glastonbury Music Festival. Despite this I have alway wanted the suppport of some one in the industry to offer their support to refine the film into a more professional presentation.

At the Swansea Bay Film Festival Boris offered this support and offered to assist me do a re-edit of the film at his Hamburg Studios. On Friday 20th July 2007 I flew to Hamburg where myself and Boris undertook a reedit of the film The Truth About Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

Boris spent four days with me re-editing the film and each day we were at it for about 10 hours minimun. Whilst I edited most of the changes Borris skillfully led me through editing techniques and styles of presentation which has seen a far superior quality documentary emerge. Boris was able to question all in the documentary and seek justification for parts to remain. He believed in the film and stated that he felt that it needed to maintain the pace and focus throughout the film.

As a result 12 minutes were shaved of of the film and the over all result will be up on the site in the near future. My heartfelt thanks go out to Boris for his support and dedication toward my film. He taught me a lot about film making and editing in the four days we spend together and I feel that we have a better film as a result.   

Look out for some future colaborations between Urban Nomad Films and Fourman Films.

Documentary Film Makers Paul Hanes, Fourman Films with Boris Castro Urban Nomad Pictures in Hamburg Germany.

The government and the MOD went to war in Iraq because we were all at imminent risk of Saddam's WMD's. Billions of taxpayers money has been spent on a poorly organised and executed 'War on Terror' which has done nothing other than increase terror ten fold. Whilst it was obvious prior to the war in Iraq to anyone who had bothered to read a variety of commonly available publications (including the dossier which contained no evidence what so ever) that Saddam posed no threat to the British people the government went ahead with the War. The advice from one defence report at the time clearly stated that going to war would put the British Public at risk.

Regrettably those politicians who now clamber to state that they believed the dossier at the time probably like many documents they vote on, had not read it in favour of just towing the party line and displaying an unrelenting obedience to the party in the hope of securing ongoing party support and promotion within the political ranks.  

Many votes within parliment are based on documentation that MP's are meant to have read. Often they do not even bother and vote along the party line in what can only be described as blind faith. There role of protecting the British public is undermined by this very fact and more and more, the line of the companies who financialy support the political campaigns of the ruling class are being upheld in the name of their profit as apposed to the will and the safety of the common tax payer.

Recent examples of this which have come to light is that after three years of public requests under the freedom of information act. America has finally revealed the members of the Iraq focus group who met secretly and advised the Bush aministration in the lead up to the war in Iraq. It has been revealed that the focus group advising American politicians was not made up of elected officials nor intelectuals on Middle East Politics. It was made up of Representatives of the Oil and Energy companies.

In sight of these facts The Truth About Weapons of Mass Destruction shows to the Brtitsh Tax Payer that the Government (particularily John Scarlet's Department The author of the dossier) was fully aware of the thousands of perfectly preserved chemical weapons left lying on the side of the road less than two hours drive form London. They have done nothing to protect us from this danger and  despite warning the MOD and the security services of this threat more than a year prior to making the film it is clear to me they still had done nothing to stop these shells being brought into Britain.

In this blog I wish to examine other threats of WMD's which are a little closer to home than France and Belgium. These threats of WMD's the Government were also aware of and they seem to not be paying attention to. I feel that the act of going to war in Iraq was to facilitate the profit of large companies whilst recklessly fleecing and endangering the British public by stirring what was no doubtly going to be an expensive hornets nest.   

In this tutorial I wish you to examine a number of commonly available web articles which are posted by none other than the BBC. These all cover real WMD threats right here in Britain which could be addressed far more easily, cheaply and effectively than going to war chasing shadows.

First WMD threat comes from Iraq. Not in the form of Saddam's WMD's but those of the Coallition. The allied forces mainly Britain and America are using Depleted Uranium Weapons. These weapons are great at peircing armour plate. They upon impact also burn at a high temperature and incinerate anything close to it. The result on humans is commonly termed 'crispy critters'. After the depleted uranium round has burnt it ironically becomes brittle and corodes to dust. This dust then is blown in the winds and dispersed. In Iraq cancer rates have increased from 600-1000 percent as a result.

What does this have to do with a risk to the UK? THe leading radiaton risk expert in the UK a fellow at the university of Liverpool has stated that this dust has been recorded landing in the wind on the mainland UK since the first gulf war. He is predicting a cancer spike in this country in the next 20 years as a result. He also goes onto state that the death caused form this risk could very well 'dwarf the Holocaust'.

Read about it here

www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/print.asp?ID=2715

And see what to expect on this presentation. Keep in mind that thousands of gulf war vets are having children with deformaties similar to thalidamide and agent orange as a result of testable levels of Depleted Uranium in their sperm. 

http://planetquo.com/Gulf-War-Syndrome-Depleted-Uranium-And-The-Dangers-Of-Low-Level-Radiation

 So with Dangerous depleted uranium dust landing in the UK the Government and the press have failed to listen to the experts and are still choosing to ignore this problem. an immendiate ban on its use would be the minimun expected in order to protect the public however they seem even incapable of doing this. The dust has a radioactive life of around 3.5 billion years so whilst it will take a while for the efffects of cancer to show up (the next 5- 15 years) the effects will remains for some time yet.   

Other closer to home risks of WMD's which the MOD knew about prior to the Iraq war are the fact that over 1million tonnes of shells from WW1 and WW2 were dumped into the Beaufort's Dyke between Northern Ireland and the Scottish coast. These shells contained a large number of chemical weapons which are now starting to explode under the sea and the gasses float to the surface. They pose a danger to shipping and coastal towns as the gasses (some nerve agents) float to the surface. Additionally see how holiday makers particularily children are burnt by the phosphourous weapons which was ashore in their hundreds. They can also be recovered by the use of trawler nets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4032629.stm

This article also contains a peice on a WW2 freighter which sunk in shallow water in the Thames estuary which is packed with explosives. As the hulk deteriates experts believe that it will explode and as such take out a large section of a residential area which lies nearby. It is in shallow water and easily accessed by anone wanting to attach a chain to it and tip it over.

Anthrax is a much feared biological weapon. It is difficult to decontaminate and the spores can last hundreds of years. The hardest part of using them ofr a WMD attact is sourcing the spores in which to grow. They can be found on anthrax island and are there as a rsult of a WW2 experiment into there use. Read about there availablity here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1457035.stm

These articles are all easily available on the net. Common knowlege for everyone to see. Still the government insists that it is fighting for our safety however it seems that everthing that the MOD does puts us at further risk and does nothing to clean up the existing and real threat of WMD's closer to home.

Disturbingly the author of the now discredited 'dossier', John Scarlet has been promoted to the head of MI5 and is due to recieve a knighthood. When families of loved ones lost in the tradgedy of 7/7 demanded an inquiry onto the performance of the security services Tony Blair responded that he thought that the Security services were doing an 'excellent job' and that an enquiry would only take away resources form the war on terror. This comment is not surprising from a man who criminally interfered with the wording of the dossier thus commiting a war crime. Isee his actions as someone protecting the main witness to his war crime. 

If you are interested in seeing some further infomation relevant to the Iraq War and other relevant topics such as the health of western democracy please see a collection of my Youtube Favourites at:- http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=fourmanfilms

Paul Hanes

Fourman Films

The Glastonbury Festival is the worlds largest rock music festival. Being comitted to current social and political issues Michael Eavis the Glastonbury Festival's owner and organiser has chosen three documentaries as part of what they describe as the 'must see' films at the festival.

All films are being shown across the three consecutive days of the festival at 1pm in the Cinema Marqee. The first on the Friday is Al Gore's, 'An Inconveinient Truth' about the threat of global warming. Second on the list of must see films is John Pilger's new film, 'War on Democracy'.

Then the third film I am delighted to announce is Fourman Films, 'The Truth About Weapon's Of Mass Destruction' wirtten and Directed by Paul Hanes.

Fourman Films managed to score huge success in being short listed for an award at the Swansea Bay International Film Festival. This is the United Kingdom's largest film festival and a major festival on the international film circuit. We were sucessful in having the best attended screening of the entire festival. We feel that this is testament to the intense interest generated by the topic of Weapons of Mass Destruction and what the British Ministry of Defence knew about WMDs prior to the war in Iraq. With a critical audience made up of film makers from around the world, the world premiere of the film was recieved warmly by Film makers, directors, industry and politicians alike.

Myric Sheen who is the Famous Michael Sheen's Father warmly congratulated Paul hanes after the screening on a 'fantastic film'. Pat Garret of Little Shop Of Horrors Fame comented that she thought the presentation to be professional and the argument delivered with precision.

Offers were abound after the screening with an invitation to Westminister to the House of Commons for lunch. This is to discuss with MP's questions which MP's should be tabling to parliment about what the MOD knew about this WMD problem prior to the war in Iraq. Paul Hanes was Also approached by the organisers of both the Palm Springs Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festivals who have asked him to submit to their Festivals.

Paul was then picked up by limosine from his hotel to attend the Gala Awards Ceremony. The five car motorcade was full of celebrity guests and officials. Paul had the privilage of riding in the lead car with none other than Mike Reiss (who is a writer for the Simpsons and launched his new film 'Queer Duck' at the festival) and his partner.

A photo session ensued on the red carpet before Paul and his party of 10 sat down for the formal dinner. Paul commented that he felt being alocated 10 tickets for the dinner when there were only 120 in total showed the warm way in which the judges (AMRITSA) and organisers of the Swansea Bay Film Festival had greeted his first Documentary, 'The Truth About Weapons Of Mass Destruction'. There were some 308 screeenings of the almost 1200 entries to the festival and over 200 film makers attending the film festival who could not get tickets to the formal dinner at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Mike Reiss comented on the excitement generated by the Truth About Weapons Of Mass Destruction as he said that when he got into a taxi the driver began talking about Paul's film within a minute of being in the cab.

See photos here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8794911@N03/

How the film came about

In order to understand how this film came about you must first understand that no one involved in this film has any media experience at all we are just four average working class guys who went on an adventure. It was never my intention that I would ever make a film let alone have it shown publicly like it now is.

In October 2003 in the lead up to the war in Iraq I had the opportunity to take my parents on holiday whilst they were visiting me in London. In order to surprise them I planned two weekends away in the month they were due to be with me. The biggest news article at the time was weapons of mass destruction.

The political environment at the time was hostile towards the idea of war in Iraq and there was wide disbelief that Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction. Hans Blix had written that the system of inspections was working and his team had not discovered any evidence of an Iraqi WMD programme. Numerous other players had added to the debate and John Pilger had also written a chapter in his book Hidden Agendas looking at the history and he doubted any WMDs existed. Additionally the British 'dossier' read like a xenophobic magazine with little evidence in it and no recognition that Saddam's weapons capability was destroyed or severely hampered in the first gulf war.

It beggars belief that the common man can read the dossier and have serious concerns about it, whilst so many British MPs accepted it. So with the wheels of war in motion to save us (the British Tax Payer) from the immediate 45 minute peril of Saddam's WMD the British government ignored other reports it had at the time. The Government had a report from the security services stating that the greatest risk to the British public would come about if Britain Invaded Iraq. Plain and simple no need to put the whole nation at risk now was there? The report that got priority was the 'Dossier' Authored by John Scarlet and gate kept and sent back for changes by chief weapons expert Tony Blair. People's kids would now die for this quite shoddy piece of work.

So with all of this going on I was in Brugge in Belgium having some fine beers and quality chocolates with my parents in a beautiful town. It was here that my mother changed the course of my life in the most innocent and gentle of ways. At Breakfast in the hotel she brought a pamphlet down which had a tour she would like to do the following day. It was run by a company called Quasimodo Tours and it offered historical trips to the battlefields of World War One. She said that she would like to see where so many of our soldiers ended up so many years ago.

So with some fresh film in the camera the very next day we waited for Quasimodo Tours to some and pick us up at the local fountain. He turned up and he liked to be called Quasi as his last name was NotreDame and all of his mates named him after the famous hunchback. This man a friendly and articulate Flemish local knew the battlefields like the back of his hands and was an avid collector of artefacts found on the battlefields. It wasn't long before the stories of trench warfare took on a stark reality when the bus continually pulled over to view the myriad of unexploded artillery shells, mortors and hand grenades literally lying on the side of the road. There were dozens of them just literally sitting there.

So with Tony's very expensive and dangerous war looming on the basis of WMD and the perils we face from them, I had some important questions for Quasi. First one was, 'could they still explode'. He said yes and three Belgium Farmers lose their lives every year when they plough over them and the shells explode'. The second was weren't some of the shells in the Great War chemical weapons like Mustard Gas?' He said yes and listed off a whole list of different substances they used in the Great War which to great effect, killed people. Then came the big question, Is there still Gas in them and is it still deadly today?' Shockingly the answer to both these questions was 'yes'.

You see in world war one the chemicals they used were effective and simple. Chlorine is an element and as such does not deteriorate. Other substances like mustard gas and phosgene and sodium cyanide simply do not break down and remain just as deadly today. Quasi was proving a very interesting guide indeed. We have since calculated the number of unexploded chemical munitions still in the battlefields of Europe to be about 64 Million. This calculation even includes generous estimates of what they have already cleaned up in Europe.

He went on to talk about the Belgium Military and how popular the battalion who cleaned up the shells were with the Belgium people. He also described how he and a friend ploughed 100m of a field that had not been previously been ploughed and they found over 30 shells on the first pass. There are also three shells statistically in each square meter of Belgium soil. To prove his point he told me that at the next stop he would show me a Mustard Gas Shell. And so there it was with WMD the biggest new story of the time and the general community wanting to avoid the bloodshed of war the reality was that I was standing on the side of the road with my mum and dad looking at a perfectly preserved chemical weapon. It had been sitting on the side of the road unattended for some weeks after a farmer found it in his field.

I was gob smacked. Now with the government peddling all this xenophobic fear of 'extremist's from other culture's who are out to get us and the world is not safe they were happy to put us all at risk by going to war based on lies and without assessing all of the risks instead choosing to focus on Iraq. The security services currently run a radio add stating that 'How do you know if that man if filming that tourist attraction for a home video or if he is filming it for terrorist purposes?' It goes on to say 'You Don't Call the Terrorist hotline!' So technically every one, should call in any tourist filming Buckingham Palace or taking a snap of Big Ben.

The joke is that they certainly are not taking this part of their work seriously. I have called them on two occasions. The first was when my Algerian upstairs boarder in a house I was renting was watching football with his mates on Sept 11^th. I thought it was a really strange day for him to be watching football with his mates and with him usually being reclusive and quiet and refusing to do what he thought was women's work. Having a loud party was quite out of character particularly considering America had been attacked that day and two of the biggest building in the world had collapsed. I grabbed a beer from my fridge and recall having a thought that it must have been a high scoring game. Kicking my shoes off and having a beer I went and switched the TV on to see the latest on the world which had just so dramatically changed.

Watching the many replays of planes hitting the twin towers on BBC1 I was horrified when the football party upstairs was cheering exactly when the planes hit the buildings on BBC1's replay. I was living with a real life terrorist and his al quada gang was up stairs celebrating with him the deaths of many Americans.

Being a responsible citizen and the now revealed threshold for calling the terrorist hotline few would argue that I was right to call the security services. I called MI5 and gave them details of what I had witnessed I offered to find out more things about this man who I lived with and knew so little about. I also called the American Embassy as they had just been attacked and this chap I lived with had travelled to America on Numerous occasions as well as the Middle East. MI5 did not really care. They could not wait to get me off the phone. It took them 6 months to call me back and in that they were more worried if I had received a good service or not. The Americans got back to me immediately the consulate told me that I would be noted on their systems as a great friend of America and the CIA called me back in two days which I thought was pretty good considering they would have been pretty busy after the 911 attacks. I told them what I could and they thanked me.

The Second time I called MI5 was after I returned from Belgium. I felt that having chemical weapons lying on the side of the road less than a few hours drive from London warranted their attention. In the light of the terrorist threat and the government about to embark on a war which was about WMD's I thought that they could help the Belgium's and French clean up the mess and not put us all in danger by going to war in Iraq. M15 were interested in me and not to concerned about the issue.

With the Mirror coming out in its clear antiwar stance and fielding articles by one of my favourite authors John Pilger I called their news desk with the story of the century. There Are Weapons of Mass Destruction Lying on the Side of the Road less than two hours drive from London. Let's not bother with the cost and bloodshed which Iraq was sure to cause.

I then proceeded to call and email every newspaper I could think off. The list was formidable and included every British Newspaper and even ones from all over the world. Nobody took the issues seriously or wanted to report on it. Discussing what I had seen many of my well educated friends colleagues and associates felt that it was scandalous that the government was rushing to go to war and refusing to debate it or vote for it in parliament and that WMDs were so freely available.

It was at this time I met a great friend and an extremely intelligent guy Richard Smyth. Our workplace was discussing the issue of the day as we often did and the WMD claim came up. I told them about what I had seen in Belgium and everyone who I had tried to get to do a story on it. I told him even the security services were not interested. Richard told me that he felt the story was important and that he wanted to speak to some of his brother's mates about it. His brother's mates had done some work for channel four before and that they might be able to find someone interested in the story and exposing the hypocrisy of the situation.

The next time I saw Richard I asked him what his brother's mates had said. Expecting that he would say they are onto it and keen to cover the issue, I half expected that I could rest assured that the issue was going to be dealt with and that some one would take up the mantle. I could just go back to being me.

I said, 'What did they say are they going to cover the story?' Richard said No I didn't speak with them.' I was puzzled. He then Said 'I spoke with my brother Patrick and he thinks that we should cover it'. Even more puzzled I asked Richard what experience Patrick and Michael had in making a film? He replied none. Completely baffled I thought about the possibility of making the film for the first time. Had I of know how difficult shooting and editing a feature length documentary without any funding or media experience would be we may not have ever tried. Fourman Films was formed and we prepared for a truly great adventure.