Jon Stephenson to Attend Screenings of New Documentary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday 8 August

Jon Stephenson to Attend Wellington Screenings of New Documentary

Jon Stephenson will make a guest appearance at the Wellington screenings of a new documentary about the role of media and military in Afghanistan.

Co-directed and produced by Annie Goldson (Brother Number One) and Kay Ellmers (Canvassing the Treaty) and significantly expanded from the earlier version screened on Māori Television, He Toki Huna: New Zealand in Afghanistan tells the wider story of New Zealand’s role in a war that began as an attempt to ‘smoke out’ those who harboured Al-Qaeda terrorists, but quickly became mired in a drawn-out counterinsurgency. It also looks at the strategies used to control the media message.

Jon Stephenson, a freelance journalist working in Afghanistan, features in the documentary along with many other New Zealand and Afghan subjects. Stephenson has been the focus of recent media attention after filing a defamation suit against the New Zealand Defence Force for alleging he lied within his reportage from Afghanistan.

Co-directors Annie Goldson and Kay Ellmers will also attend the Wellington screenings on Friday 9 August and Saturday 10 August. All three guests will participate in a Question and Answer session with the audience at the end of each screening.

The documentary is a finalist in the Script Writer Awards (SWANZ) for Best Factual Script. The awards are being announced tonight from 8pm in Auckland.

He Toki Huna: New Zealand in Afghanistan screens in Wellington at Soundings Theatre, Te Papa on Friday 9 August at 2.00pm and Saturday 10 August at 6.15pm. NZIFF screens in Wellington until 11 August. Tickets are currently on sale through Ticketek.

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