Benjamin Gilmour threw in his job as the personal medic for Sharon Stone and spent eight dangerous months in disguise filming a flick for the first time on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, known as the stomping ground of Osama bin Laden.
Congratulations for coming out alive, mate. What was it like filming a movie in the most dangerous place in the world?
It keeps you awake. But I honestly believe that some of the most risky endeavours in life prove the most rewarding.
What's the flick about?
Son of a Lion is the story of a kid growing up in his dad's gun factory who would rather go to school. The funny thing is, when I was his age I would have preferred making grenades out of scrap metal than sitting around reading Shakespeare.
As a virgin film maker, you took a great risk in filming around the hideouts of Osama bin Laden. This has never been done before, so what deterred other film makers?
Probably the idea of running into Osama is a good enough reason. Truth is, although Osama does indeed get around where I shot the film, the Pashtun tribals are the nicest bunch of humans I've ever met. They treat their guests like kings. I mean they gave me servants, free drugs and killed their best livestock for my meals. It’s paramount in their culture to look after a guest, so much so that an Aussie filmmaker will enjoy the same hospitality Osama bin Laden has, all without judgement.
You were in disguise as a local and only armed with a small digital camera, whereas everyone else including kids were carry big guns. Did you get trained how to use weapon?
I may look like a private school nerd but I can take apart an AK-47, put it together again and rattle off a few rounds. Before we call the Pasthuns terrorists, on account of them routinely carrying guns, we should first understand that these people in the tribal zone do not have a police force to protect themselves and need to bear arms. They have been armed since the beginning of time and have successfully resisted the likes of Alexander the Great and Gheghis Khan. In number, tribal Pashtuns are equal to the population of Sydney, all of them carrying a piece. It’s easy to see why the US can only use missiles from predator drones. Sending in ground troops would be suicide.
Suspicious dealings with outsiders was punishable by death. Considering lead actor Sher Alam and his people took you in as one of their own, don’t you think it was a bloody big ask?
It was a big ask, but a Pashtun has to give a guest anything he wants. So, when I asked them to protect me for eight months and help me make a full-length movie, they couldn't say no. Being so misunderstood as a race, they were also keen to collaborate in order to help show the truth about who they are. Over here we keep calling them Taliban, but what we're actually facing in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a resistance movement of the people against foreign interfernce and occupation.
Sher Alam reckons he would have fought to the death if you were attacked by gunfire. Was it like living with the Pashtun version of Rambo?
The whole clan was awesome, tough as nails, but also with a top sense of humour. For example, Sher Alam had two wives, but after I showed him a picture of my girlfriend, Kass, a former cabaret dancer, he said he would trade both his wives in for her. When I asked the tribe if they were worried about being hit by a hellfire missile from a US drone or a Pakistani army attack, they literally said, "What do you take us for, a bunch of pussies?" After that they gave me my own Kalashnikov and Browning 9mm, telling me I would have to join the fight of cause if we came under fire and I immediately had Waco Texas flashbacks. But its the very reason why the Pashtuns in parts of Afghanistan are winning the war there. As they see it, they would rather give up their life than lose their freedom.
There’s a plentiful supply of hashish in the movie. Did you ever think of naming it, Son of a Bong Head?
Actually no, but I reckon its why Osama has been so quiet lately.
You nearly got lynched by an angry mob for filming Muslim chicks without their burqa. Any other death-defying experiences?
Yeah, my theory is that the chicks on the Afghan border are so drop-dead gorgeous they have to get around veiled to save the men folk from going nuts. Filming women was a no-no, passing roadblocks got the adrenaline pumping, but the most dangerous bit was shooting a film about guns while using only live ammo. When I told them what a blank was they just couldn't savvy why any idiot would invent such a stupid thing.
Considering you often see a lot of boobs on Bondi Beach as a paramedic, was it hard not seeing any babes for over eight months?
Even a few days without boobs and beer is tough for any Aussie bloke, let alone eight months. But I will never forget the phone sex.
Now for the million dollar question, where’s Osama hiding?
The White House.
Saxon Cheng
The Son of a Lion DVD can be purchased by jumping onto Madman.com.au and the book Warrior Poets can be purchased at leading bookstores or sonofalion.com.
Where do you think Benjamin Gilmour should shoot his next movie? Leave your comments below.
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