THE MAURITANIAN 2021

Kevin Macdonald’s award-baiting drama casts Foster as a defence attorney working the case of a Guantanamo inmate…

“The first thing that got me interested in The Mauritanian was reading the script and wanting to participate in telling the story of Mahamedou [Ould Slahi, Guantanamo Bay’s longest-serving inmate]. I mean, that was our priority. And that was the priority for the real Nancy Hollander [Slahi’s lawyer, played by Foster]. She wanted to make sure that Mahamedou’s story was told. And then I discovered Nancy, everything she had done in her life.

“I think this film is really relevant for this time. It’s really a love letter to the rule of law, and to how important it is to hold on to those foundations of the Constitution and democracy, especially when the country is taken over by fear and anxiety and terror. When those emotions are so high, that’s where justice really comes in handy.

“I hope they’ll close down Guantanamo. I believe they will, ultimately whether it’s in this administration or another because it’s so expensive. It really doesn’t make any sense to keep it running right now. I believe there’s 40 prisoners/detainees that are still there. And the only reason most of them are there is because they can’t find homes for them.

“I was just really grateful and happy that I got to be in this space with Tahar [Rahim, who plays Slahi] when he was giving the performance that he gave, knowing where that performance was coming from. And I just wanted to be there, to help him and to serve him, even if it’s just to stay quiet and to let him have his moment.

“…I was wearing a wig in the movie, and they have these big storms in Cape Town [where we shot]. The hardest thing I had to do was to keep my hat down, so that my wig didn’t fly away!”

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