Backstabbing for Beginners

Backstabbing for Beginners is a 2018 political thriller film directed and co-written by Per Fly, and based on the eponymous memoirs of Michael Soussan.[1] It follows the real life corruption scandal in the UN Oil-for-Food Programme, and stars Theo James and Ben Kingsley.

Backstabbing for Beginners
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPer Fly
Produced byLars Knudsen
Nikolaj Vibe Michelsen
Jay Van Hoy
Malene Blenkov
Written byDaniel Pyne
Per Fly
Based onBackstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course in International Diplomacy
by Michael Soussan
StarringBen Kingsley
Theo James
Belçim Bilgin
Jacqueline Bisset
Music byTodor Kobakov
CinematographyBrendan Stacey
Edited byMorten Giese
Production
companies
Creative Alliance
Eyeworks Scandi Fiction
Hoylake Capital
Parts and Labor
Scythia Films
Waterstone Entertainment
Distributed by
Release date
  • January 18, 2018 (2018-01-18) (Denmark)
  • April 27, 2018 (2018-04-27) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryCanada
Denmark
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million US

Plot

The film follows Michael Sullivan, the son of US State Department diplomat who died when Michael was young. Michael leaves a lucrative job at a large bank and lands his dream job as a diplomat with the United Nations (UN), in the fall of 2002. He is assigned to work as an assistant to Under-Secretary-General Costa "Pasha" Passaris, the head of the Oil-for-Food Programme, operated since 1995 to help the citizens of Iraq without allowing the oil sales to boost Saddam Hussein and his regime. On his first visit to Baghdad, local UN chief diplomat Christina Dupre makes it clear to Pasha that she is disturbed by the corruption in the programme, and plans to publish a report voicing her concerns. This is the first Michael hears of the problem, and over the course of the film he uncovers a major corruption scandal, whereby payoffs and bribes diverted $20 billion of the funds away from food and into the hands of companies, banks, officials of various governments, and officials of the UN itself, possibly including Pasha, so that Hussein can pocket over $1 billion of the funds.

Michael falls in love with Nashim, a UN worker in Baghdad who reveals aspects of the corruption to Michael, while she covertly works to advance the cause of her own people, the Kurds of northern Iraq. Pasha tries to teach Michael about the realities of diplomacy in a world filled with corruption, highlighting that $60 billion does make it into buying food and medicine for the people of Iraq. As more of the people around him are killed, including Nashim and Dupre, and as the corruption continues even after the programme was de jure terminated in 2003, following the Coalition Invasion of Iraq, a dejected Michael gathers evidence and takes it to The Wall Street Journal.

Cast

Production

The film was a Canada, United States and Denmark co-production.[2] Josh Hutcherson was originally set to star in the movie but dropped out and was replaced by Theo James.[3] Filming started in March 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco,[4] with other scenes shot in Copenhagen in April 2016.[5] The production budget was $8 million.[5]

Release

In June 2017, A24 and DirecTV Cinema acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[6] The film was released in Denmark on 18 January 2018.[7] The film was released through DirecTV Cinema on 22 March 2018, before being a limited release in the United States on 27 April 2018.[8][9]

References
  1. "Backstabbing for Beginners: A Crash Course in International Diplomacy by Michael Soussan". The Bologna Institute for Policy Research. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. Copenhagen Film Fund. "Backstabbing for Beginners". cphfilmfund.com. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. Evry, Max. "Theo James Replaces Josh Hutcherson in Backstabbing for Beginners". comingsoon.net. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. McNary, Dave (2 March 2016). "Jacqueline Bisset Joins Thriller 'Backstabbing for Beginners'". Variety. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  5. Carstensen, Ivar. "Hollywood Stars Coming to Denmark to Film New Movie". DR.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  6. Ford, Rebecca (7 June 2017). "A24, DirecTV Take 'Backstabbing for Beginners' With Theo James, Ben Kingsley (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. "Conspiracy, corruption, bravery and a dash of romance- don't miss the new movie "Backstabbing For Beginners"". Your Danish Life. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  8. Boone, Josh (20 March 2018). "Murder, the Mafia and Political Corruption Abound in 'Backstabbing for Beginners' Trailer (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. Danish Film Institute. "Backstabbing for Beginners". dfi.dk (in Danish). Danish Film Institute. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
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