EVAN POPP Posted onOctober 31, 2018
Photo: Rosamund Pike in 'A Private War.' Photo by Aviron Pictures - © Aviron Pictures
Marie Colvin was a legend among war correspondents. Her tenacious reporting from conflict zones areound the world and willingness to put herself in harm’s way to document atrocities being committed by the powerful brought her to the pinnacle of her profession.
But it was also this determination to show the human cost of war that ultimately led to her death in 2012, when Colvin was targeted and killed in Homs, Syria while reporting on how civilians were suffering from the siege of the city.
Colvin’s life and career as a journalist who refused to let danger prevent her from doing her job is set to receive renewed attention with the upcoming release of filmmaker Matthew Heineman’s biopic “A Private War.”
To understand more about the film and discuss the importance of journalists telling untold stories, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press spoke with Heineman, Rosamund Pike — who portrays Colvin in the film — and Colvin’s sister, Cat.
Reporters Committee: How does the film show the importance of a free press and journalists holding the powerful accountable?
Cat Colvin: I’m really glad that the film brings this issue to a broader audience in a way that I think will reach a lot more people … It’s always a struggle to get attention for what I consider to be the really critical issue of getting firsthand accounts of these wars that are occuring. Without journalists there on the ground, dictators can operate with impunity. As you see with the Rohingya people and in Syria now, there’s a real dearth of news. So I think the film will inspire people to learn more and understand in a more personal way what journalists go through and the risk that they take to bring news to our door.