On the morning of April 29, 2011, President Obama called on his National Security Advisor and his senior staff. and said shortly: "It's a go", and everyone understood; the operation to hunt down Osama Bin-Laden was in motion
Ilana Dayan | Gilad Tocatly | UVDA| פורסם 29/11/1212:32
A year ago, on the morning of April 29, 2011, President Obama called on his National Security Advisor and his senior staff. The President was short and clear: "It's a go", he said, and everyone in the room understood; The operation to hunt down Osama Bin-Laden was in motion. Two days later, the US Navy Seals will land in the heart of Abottabad, a quiet, upscale Pakistani town. Within 20 minutes, the most wanted man in the world will lie dead on his bedroom floor . The editorial team of "Uvda" ("Fact") was facing one tough decision: they knew that a documentary project on the OBL operation has to begin in Pakistan. But the presence of an Israeli reporter in the Muslim, terror-stricken country, is not expected to be appreciated. Ilana Dayan, "Uvda"'s anchor for the last 18 years, travelled under-cover to Pakistan, arrived at Abottabad, and met people who knew Bin Laden and admired him too.
Dayan, and "Uvda"'s chief director, Gilad Tocatly, went on to the White House, where they were given rare access and exclusive interviews with President Obama's top advisers. They talk openly, on camera, on the moments they will never forget: at the President's side, throughout the most extraordinary hours of his presidency.
The documentary takes the viewer to the intricacies of the decision-making process: the doubts, the fears, the risks and the words uttered on the radio, "Geronimo EKIA", when everybody started breathing.
The result on-screen is breathtaking: special reconstruction shootings in a military "training town" in Israel, unique interviews in the US, and an adventurous trip to Pakistan, to the place where it all happened.
"I'm arriving to Pakistan with a foreign passport and a different name, nothing to turn away my Israeli identity. My local producer and the camera crew that works with me know nothing, except the fact that I am a Spanish-speaking reporter, covering the Bin Laden story... When you closely watch how Bin Laden is still admired here, when you understand the magnitude of hatred this man ignited, suddenly it isn't surprising that here of all places, this man found a safe haven for almost six years".
"The Hunt for Bin Laden"- a true closure, a special production of "Uvda", Keshet Broadcasting, Israeli channel 2.
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