The Humanizer – New Roger Casement Movie
The Humanizer is a new film based on a true story by British/Japanese artist Simon Fujiwara. It is about the life of the historical Irish Nationalist figure Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916). It will be presented at the IMMA on the 20th of May 2016 and on exhibition until the 28th of August. IMMA will also host an artist discussion on Friday the 20th of May with Simon Fujiwara and Hollywood screenplay writer Michael Lesslie (one of the creators of The Humanizer), exploring the processes that involved the script and narrative of the movie.
Roger Casement the “father of twentieth-century human rights investigations” was a human rights campaigner and fought for the rights of slaves. He was knighted in 1911 for his humanitarian work, but later stripped of his knighthood and other honours. Casement wrote about his activities as a homosexual man in his private journals, now known as the Black Diaries. During World War I he was arrested for approaching Germany for support and weapons to aid the Irish Rebellion in the 1916 Easter Rising; he was found guilty of treason and later executed by the British Government. It is believed that it was because of the content of the Black Diaries and laws concerning homosexuality that Casement was not given clemency; evidence emerged in 2002 that these “diary-entries” were not factual, but that it was mere fantasy.
The Humanizer is based on Casement’s biography and portrays him as an individual who cares about his fellowman, but a man misunderstood by his country. In 1934 there were talks of making a movie based on his life, but it was turned down because of censorship laws and banned from being filmed. Oscar winning designer Annie Atkins (The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014; Bridge of Spies, 2015) and artist and sound designer Moritz Fehr also joins the production team. Fujiwara loaned the props (documents, an arrest warrant, love letters and the Black Diaries) for the movie from Babelsberg Film Studios in Berlin.
The above article by Ms Spain is seriously misinformed and misleading. She says that this film, which I have not seen, is based on Casement’s biography. But which biography? There are several. What happened in 2002 that demonstrated the diaries were not factual?
It is clear that the film is not based on impartial research and that Ms Spain knows very little about the background.
Dear Mr Hyde,
I am so sorry to hear that you found my review misleading and mis informative and extend my sincere apologies. I regret to inform you, but I no longer work for Fountain Resource and I am no longer a journalist, as it turns out I was never very good at it. I do remember writing this little article back then, and kept it short, therefore I did not elaborate too much. I found the following articles/websites that might be of help to you, but I do have to confess I was working off a press release back then, if that makes sense to you.
https://www.ireland2016.gov.ie/news/roger-casements-biography-reimagined-new-sound-exhibition-imma
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roger-Casement-Penguin-Classic-Biography/dp/0141391278
Again, I am truly sorry for upsetting you like this.
Kind regards,
Jacqueline Spain
To be fair, whether there is inaccuracies in the article or not, these things do happen from time to time.
Jacqueline’s work was usually of a very high standard and we were sorry when she had to move on.