Danger Zone [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Vita Maria Drygas
fiche film] is a brave documentary that approaches the contested topic of war tourism with an open mind. Director Vita Maria Drygas crafts a collaborative, tactful and singular film out of the topic’s many ambivalent facets. Cineuropa spoke with her during IDFA, where the film had its international premiere in competition.

Cineuropa: Who was the first out of your four characters that you met, and how did everything evolve after that?
Vita Maria Drygas: I believe the documentation process for Danger Zone was one of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of this movie. When I began, over seven years ago, it was an underground part of the tourism industry; in reality, it still is, because many people say they first heard about war tourism from the film. It’s not to be confused with the concept of dark tourism, which involves visiting former sites of armed conflicts. The first person I read about was Andrew Drury from the UK, who had 30 years’ experience in conflict zones. I spent over a year persuading him to take part because establishing trust was essential.

What was the process like?
I understood him without any preconceived notions. I wanted him to see that the focus was on the human aspect, not on sensationalism or investigative journalism. Finally, when we first met, our conversation lasted eight hours and was “therapeutic”, in his words. As the project progressed, additional characters came into the spotlight, and Eleonora was the latest to join. Finding a woman who could challenge the prevailing stereotype of war being solely associated with men was a priority for me. In addition to the tourists, individuals orchestrating these journeys to conflict zones also took centre stage. It was crucial for me to uncover the behind-the-scenes aspect of these journeys. However, the main theme of this film was the exploration of a world where war had become a product.

Eleonora is indeed the sole woman we see. But perhaps gender doesn’t matter in this case…
There are significantly fewer women involved, at least none that I encountered during the documentation process. Probably, if we were to judge it at first glance, considering physical attributes, Eleonora is a very petite woman. However, she is incredibly athletic and disciplined. In the film, you can see her exercising every day, no exceptions. She also dared to share many difficult stories in the film, and owing to my sense of responsibility for a character who entrusts their life and image [to me], this was very important for me. I made sure she was aware of the potential consequences, and I wrote to her about all the possible worst-case scenarios, even though one particular scene, which I don’t want to spoil, was undoubtedly interesting for the film. However, Eleonora wanted me to use it, and I think I must have reassured myself about it at least 20 times.

What was the set-up like; did you have different cinematographers on location?
In the film, we had more than two cinematographers, but the pandemic happened, so people had other commitments. There was also a segment related to Eleonora's journey to Afghanistan. Her trip kept getting delayed, and the situation on the ground became increasingly hazardous, with Americans pulling out. We strongly advised Eleonora not to take the risk, but she decided to proceed. We had to carefully consider the risks involved in working on this part with the producers. There, the situation changes dramatically from day to day. We decided that if we could find a local team capable of managing the situation, fluent in the local language, experienced in working with the press, and with their own fixers, who would be willing to film Eleonora's journey, we would enlist their assistance.

Dark tourism is not the same, but why do you think it’s mostly Americans and Brits who are fascinated by locations of past and ongoing trauma?
For the film, we did a much broader casting of war tourists, including Germans, among others. However, we had to select characters and build the dramaturgical structure of the story. I cannot generalise here that it is mainly Americans and Brits who are primarily interested in this. Certainly, these trips are expensive, so the economic aspect needs to be taken into consideration.

The camera, like the human presence, is both a spectator and a participant. How did you decide on the visual style of the film to keep a balance between the two?
On one hand, we have the camera observing the characters, but we also chose to incorporate materials we referred to as war video diaries, self-recorded by the protagonists. Through the characters' diaries, I aimed to infuse it with some additional emotions, as these private materials, with the cameras that they turned on themselves while speaking when we're not present, have an intimate character. However, striking a balance was a process during the editing phase, and we explored numerous versions over almost three years of editing.