There were many defining battles of World War I — the Battle of the Somme, for example, in which more than 50,000 French military personnel were killed or went missing. For our compatriots Down Under, the battle for Turkey’s Gallipoli peninsula is etched into their collective memory as one of the deadliest. In 25 April, director Leanne Pooley has made a beautifully rendered documentary that uses graphic novel-style animation to tell the true stories of six Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers who fought in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. (25 April screens Friday, February 5, 5:20pm at Metro; Saturday, February 6, 11:20am at Metro; and Monday, February 8, 11am at Lobero.)
What drew you to make this film?
I was approached by the producer Matthew Metcalfe who had the idea to make a film about Gallipoli using animation. Gallipoli is a very important part of New Zealand’s national identity, but it’s a story that’s been told a number of times. This was a new and exciting way to explore what happened. Animation means I can do things I couldn’t if this was a live action film. I can really get inside the heads of those who were there. There are visual metaphors that help me express the emotional cost as well as the physical cost of this conflict that simply wouldn’t work in a live action film. It really was a creative opportunity I couldn’t pass up.