Colin Firth and Angus MacFadyen have decided to throw themselves headlong into the history of the Middle East crisis, in Michael Winterbottom’s Promised Land. The film, which already has Jim Sturgess onboard to star, recounts the events that led up to the 1948 partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel.
It’s already proving slightly controversial, as it’s set to look at extremist Jewish militant groups who launched terror attacks against the British forces and Arabs during their campaign for statehood. While we know Sturgess is playing a British officer hunting down the extremists, there’s no news on exactly what parts Firth and MacFadyen will take on, although it’s likely they’ll be UK military personnel too.
Although Michael Winterbottom has never been one to shy away from controversy, this is potentially his most contentious film yet, and could set off a firestorm of protest. However at least he has experience handling handling sensitive issues in films like A Mighty Heart and In This World. Filming on Promised Land is due to start in the summer.