The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall (TV 2008)

An English family fights to establish truth, justice, and accountability from the Israeli army after their son - Tom, a young photo-journalism student - is shot in the head in Gaza by an Israeli army sniper in April 2003.

Director:

Rowan Joffe

Writer:

Simon Block

Stars:

Bader Alami, Ziad Backry, Mark Bazeley

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bader Alami	...	Anis
Ziad Backry	...	Sgt. Taysir
Mark Bazeley	...	Tom Fitzalan-Howard
Emma Choy	...	Australian Reporter
Stephen Dillane	...	Anthony Hurndall
Kerry Fox	...	Jocelyn Hurndall
Denise Gough	...	Michelle
Gus Lewis	...	Freddy
Doraid Liddawi	...	IDF Soldier
Kika Markham	...	Alison
Tom McKay	...	Rueben
Matthew McNulty	...	Tom Hurndall
Jonathan Miller	...	Taysir's C.O
Marry Nazzal	...	Laura
Mary Nazzal	...	Laura

Storyline

After Tom Hurndall is shot in the head in Gaza, his parents Anthony and Jocelyn arrive in Israel wanting to know how it could have happened. They expect sympathy and co-operation from the Israeli authorities, but are instead met with an official explanation that fails to tally with any eye-witness accounts, and a wall of silence. When an Israeli army report attempts to whitewash the incident, the Hurndalls decide the only way to establish the truth is to launch their own investigation into the shooting, a process which brings them face to face with both the Open-Fire regulations of the Israeli army in Gaza, and the soldier who pulled the trigger.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Untitled Tom Hurndall Project

Company Credits

Production Co:

Talkback Thames

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

User Reviews

All in this movie are victims, while none are winners

Minor spoiler alert re the sniper. The movie script shows little insight into the lose/lose nature of self perpetuating siege, defence as routine, endless war, life with daily death, shooting, killing, not to mention stoning, beheading, terror, cruelty, & blood libel, plenty to go around regardless of which "side" anyone is on. Historically speaking, ever since Arrafat's uncle, the Grand Mufti, returned from Hitler's Germany to promulgate propaganda about Jews, and once he felt confident bearing Hitler's written promise to eradicate all Jews living in the Middle East just as soon as Germany was victorious in achieving world dominance, life between Palestinians & Jews has become largely irreversibly horrific. None of the world's "democratic" or "enlightened" nations offered refuge to Hitler's Jews. Yes, of course Israel is guilty of acts of war, a daily battle to survive (& Israel remains largely unrecognized for its many daily acts of humanitarian aid to Palestine ). Sooner or later, any nation under siege, as Israel is, ends up faced w/ consideratin of the unthinkable. If the shoe were on all the other feet? How would other democratic nations counter jihad ? Not well at all, so far, in Europe. It's also untenable to live inside a hotbed of millennial hatred while surrounded by publicly declared mortal enemies firing rockets on Israeli civilians. All nations around Israel have long been in mutual tribal conflict, but have as one sworn to eradicate Israel & all Jews. Western civilization itself may be about to become the next "Israel". BTW? No matter whose army that soldier joined who shot Hurndall, the ultimate irony is that the IFD sniper who shot him was, in fact, a Bedouin Arab.