Quebec filmmaker Daniel Roby spent 13 years making his most recent movie, Target Number One The film finally made it on silver screens in the middle of this month.
The film tells of an Quebec man who is involved in an undercover police investigation in Vancouver and ends up in an inmate facility in Thailand for trafficking in drugs.
It is only when an Canadian investigative journalist is taken an interest in his story does the complex web of lies begin to unravel.
Roby’s screenplay is inspired by the real account about Alain Olivier, who spent 8 years in the Thai prison as a result of an operation by the police that went wrong.
Olivier later filed a lawsuit against the RCMP unsuccessfully, claiming that he was tricked by undercover police officers who did not assist him following his arrest.
Roby began his studies in 2007 by taking part in the three-month civil trial in Montreal and witnessing the testimony of witnesses for hours.
“I was in the room every day of the week, listening to everyone’s interpretation of the events,” he told CBC’s All in a Weekend.
He spoke with the journalist who investigated the matter, Victor Malarek, then from The Globe and Mail, and believed he had a handle on the events that had occurred.
“I have written a story that is based on the most plausible sequence of events” he stated.
Roby said that he was inspired by the tale of injustice as well as the dedication of Malarek who was seen at the top of the screen in the film by Josh Hartnett — who played a key role in getting Olivier freed from cell in Bangkok.
“Without the Canadian journalist from Canada, I think he could have died in Canada,” Roby told Radio-Canada.
in the movie, an unfortunate prisoner who is played by Antoine-Olivier Pion has a fictional name one of Daniel Leger.
While the film takes a few liberty with the original tale, Roby maintains that it is largely based on witness testimony and actual stories.
Roby the producer who directed Funkytown(2011) along with Louis Cyr (2013) stated that this film is a labor of love, made with an extremely modest budget.
“I invested the director’s fee in the film to finance the film,” he said. “It’s not for naught the fact that I’ve worked on this project for the last 13 years.”
He shared that after the team and he worked so hard on the film It was difficult to witness the film’s release being was delayed due to the pandemic.
He was still adamant about delay the release of the film to an online audience before releasing it.
“I would have loved to see the film on the big screen because I believed that the film’s message isn’t pure entertainment,” said Roby. “It’s an examination of misuse of power and the importance of press freedom.”
“Now is the time for a return trip to the theaters? I’m not sure. However, I am certain that there are people just like me.”
