George Bush assassination film wins top award

George Bush assassination film wins top award

Bush is shot by a sniper in a scene from Death of a President. Click enlarge to see the image in full

The video which outraged America by depicting the assassination of President George W Bush has won an award at the Toronto film festival.

British director Gabriel Range's "Death of a President" stirred up a strong reaction even before it premiered at the festival, but it won the Prize of the International Critics.

The jury of film critics cited the film "for the audacity with which it distorts reality to reveal a larger truth."

The shocking footage, which you can preview exclusively here, is from a new Channel 4 movie to be broadcast on More4 in October.

"Death of a President" chronicles the sniper shooting of Bush on October 19, 2007, during a trip to Chicago and the ensuing investigation. The film blends archival footage of Bush interspersed with fierce anti-war protests and other fictional scenes crafted by the filmmakers.

Actors posing as administration officials and Secret Service agents were digitally grafted into some images of the president and his entourage.

The filmmakers said they chose to use Bush rather than substitute a fictitious president to heighten the authenticity.

"I'm thrilled that the film is going to be shown in cinemas in the US in the near future," Mr Range said. "That's proof that people can see beyond the premise and see that it's a film about this post-9/11 world that we live in."

However, the £2million movie sparked controversy in America and the British film-makers had to be guarded by private security men at the film festival after threats were made on their lives.