Kajaki (film)

Kajaki: The True Story, released in North America as Kilo Two Bravo,^[5][6] is a 2014 British war docu-drama film directed by Paul Katis in his feature debut, written by Tom Williams, and produced by Katis and Andrew de Lotbiniere.

Kajaki: The True Story
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by	Paul Katis
Written by	Tom Williams
Produced by	Paul Katis Andrew de Lotbinière
Starring	David Elliot
Cinematography	Chris Goodger
Edited by	Brin
Production company	Pukka Films
Distributed by	Alchemy Releasing
Release dates	12 November 2014 (2014-11-12) (Premiere)[1][2] 28 November 2014 (2014-11-28)[3]
Running time	108 minutes[4][1]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$34,017[4]

The plot is based on the Kajaki Dam incident, involving Mark Wright and a small unit of British soldiers positioned near the Kajaki Dam, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Cast

• David Elliot as Mark Wright
• Mark Stanley as Tug
• Scott Kyle as Stu Pearson
• Benjamin O'Mahony as Stuart Hale
• Bryan Parry as Jonesy
• Liam Ainsworth as Ken Barlow
• Ali Cook as Spud McMellon
• Andy Gibbins as Smudge
• Grant Kilburn as Alex Craig
• John Doughty as Dave Prosser
• Jon-Paul Bell as Luke Mauro
• Malachi Kirby as Snoop
• Paul Luebke as Jay Davis
• Ryan W. Sadi as Kyle Minchew
• Robert Mitchell as Faz
• Thomas Davison as Jarhead
• Abe Dababneh as Kajaki Jon
• Felipe Cabezas as Kajaki Mike
• Hazem Alagha as Steven "Bombhead" Watson

Production

The film was shot on location at Al-Kafrein, Jordan, as a stand-in for Afghanistan.^[3]

Release

Kajaki premiered on 12 November 2014^[1] at London's Vue Cinema in Leicester Square and was attended by cast, crew and veterans.^[2] The film was released in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2014^[3] and in the United States on 13 November 2015.^[5][4]

Reception

Box office

Kajaki grossed $7,891 in the United Kingdom, and $26,126 in other territories for a worldwide total of $34,017.^[5][4]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 100% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Kilo Two Bravo honours its fact-based story with an almost unbearably tense drama that captures the horrors -- and the human cost -- of modern warfare."^[7]

Accolades

At the 2015 BAFTA Scotland Awards^[8] (ceremony 15 November 2015) David Elliot won as Best Actor in Film. At the 2015 British Independent Film Awards^[9] (ceremony 6 December 2015) Paul Katis (director/producer) and Andrew de Lotbinière (producer) won as Producer of the Year for work on this film and were also nominated at the 2015 British Academy Film Awards^[10] (ceremony 8 February 2015) as Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.