Press Conference: “A Mighty Heart”

A Mighty Heart, an Out of Competition entry, brought to Cannes producer Brad Pitt and lead actress Angelina Jolie who met the press along with director Michael Winterbottom; actors Archie
Panjabi, Dan Futterman, Irrfan Khan and Gary Wilmes; producers Marin and Nathanael Karmitz. Also present was Mariane Pearl whose story was brought to the screen in this movie. Highlights.

Mariane Pearl on how this film came to be made: “I didn’t have project to make a film; I didn’t think it appropriate to make a film about this delicate subject. On meeting
Brad, I discovered a free spirit and I felt that we were two contemporaries in the same situation and in the same world, aware of the same stakes and the same problems. We came from completely
different worlds, but we were both aware that it was important to take into consideration the capacities of each one. I put my confidence in him because we had the same objectives. He was ready
to embark on the project, to take on the risks and bring it to fruition. The story of Danny does not concern only me; it also concerns the Americans among others.”

Angelina Jolie on the difficulty of the role of Mariane: “I’d read her book. I admired her from afar and then we just wanted to have a play day and somehow I just ended up in
all of this together. I care very much about her and her story and I believe very much in her voice. I was very nervous to get it right. In the end, we all at this table and others not
represented here had a chance to learn a lot and get closer and grow and just the experience is something I’m grateful for.”

Brad Pitt on being in Cannes: “It doesn’t feel much different as we have a camera following us around just about every day, but we’re really happy to be here with this
project. We have great respect for this story and its place in the world and our friendship that has formed because of it. The message is very important to us and we think it stands on its own
and that’s first and foremost in our minds.”

Michael Winterbottom on the new feel to this film: “It’s no conscious effort to make a different style. We tried to just shoot the film very simply. For the exteriors, we went
to Pakistan and filmed there and we shot the interiors in India. And we tried to recreate the atmosphere of how the house would be.”

Brad Pitt on producing: “What I appreciate the most is to be part of projects that wouldn’t be right on the acting front. Stories like Mariane’s story, which I was very
taken with. It was important for me to be a part of that and through the producing we get to do that and take part in these kind of films and see them through to the end and find the right
people like the cast you see here. That’s the producer’s job: make sure things stay on the rails. It’s a really interesting side to filmmaking itself and we don’t have
to be in front of the camera.”

Dan Futterman on his role: “I felt in certain ways that I was acting a different film. By virtue of the story, a lot of the work that Angie and I had together were the happy times
that Danny and Mariane had together and there were many of them… A great deal of it was improvised between Angie and me and I got the feeling that it was a relief for Angie to be
shooting some of those scenes. Michael has a way of creating an environment where you feel both free as well as directed in a certain way.”

Angelina Jolie on Islamic fundamentalism: “There was every different faith represented in that house. It was very interesting to have these people of different faiths coming together
with friendship and concern and dialogue and what that symbolizes.”

Photo Copyright AFP