One of the greatest living documentarians making a film about one of the greatest spy (and other) writers of all time. Pigeon Shooting – Portrait of John Le Carré premieres October 20 in streaming on Apple TV+.
If you say David Cornwall, nobody understands it, or almost. But if instead of saying David cornwellformer British spy, says one John LeCarrethe pseudonym with the Cornwells, has become one of the greatest spy writers of all time, things are changing.
And they change even more when we explain the life and career of this extraordinary writer, author of famous novels like “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold”, “The Mole”, “The Night Manager” And “The Persistent Gardener”He will be one of the greatest documentary filmmakers in the business, the Oscar winner Errol Morristhe one who directed The Fog of War – War According to Robert McNamara, Standard Operating Procedures – The Horror Truth or The Unknown Known.
The Morris-directed documentary about Le Carré, titled Pigeon Shooting – Portrait of John Le Carré, is an Apple Original that will make its streaming debut on Apple TV+ on October 20.
Against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War, the film spans six decades to the present day, the last interview by Le Carre, most frankly and peppered with sketches and rare archival material. Based on the memoirs of Le Carrethe New York Times bestseller “The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life”The film is an unprecedented journey into the lesser-known realm of an iconic and historically reclusive author’s formative experiences, with original music by Phillip Glass in collaboration with Paul Leonard Morgan.
Simon and Stephen CornwellCo-CEO and co-founder of the production company The Ink Factorywho are also sons of David said:
“Full of profound insights and surprising, amusing and often deeply moving anecdotes, Pigeon Shooting – Portrait of John Le Carré traces a conversation between two great minds: one has spun a brilliant narrative out of the events he witnessed; the other suggested a reflection on those events that often led to a greater truth.”
Together, director and writer explore the events of Cold War and from the life of Le Carre, testing the limits of truth, memory and imagination. Layered and unorthodox, the film is a tête-à-tête between a director and a novelist – both masters of their craft – starting at the roots of the creative process, through the power of fiction and our responsibility to truth.