Battle in Seattle

November 1999, Seattle, during the World Trade Organization meeting. Five days told through fictional characters: organisers, a cop on the street, a pregnant shop clerk, a reporter on the ground and the city's mayor. A peaceful demonstration escalates until a state of emergency is declared. Stuart Townsend wrote and directed, his first and to date only feature. The cast includes Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Michelle Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, Ray Liotta and Connie Nielsen. The budget was around ten million dollars, and the film stretches it by stitching staged scenes to real news footage. Most of the street work was shot in Vancouver. Theron was Townsend's partner at the time; her strand carries the film's harshest scene. The structure is the classic multi-character event film: nobody wins, everyone loses something. Who it is for: viewers who like political events told at street level. Who it is not for: anyone expecting neutrality; the film stands with the protesters and says so.