Smokehouse Pictures partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov are developing a narrative feature on the Netflix documentary The White Helmets.
Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, The White Helmets explores one of the bravest groups of first-responders on the planet. Also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, this group of unarmed, political neutral volunteers runs in after the Russian-backed Assad regime drops bombs on houses, schools, and hospitals, trapping innocent lives beneath the rubble. The hard-hat heroes courageously dig through the rubble searching for survivors, while the deadly attacks against the rebel forces continue.
The doc has been Shortlisted for best Documentary Short and was featured on a recent 60 Minutes broadcast. According to the doc and broadcast, these selfless volunteers who are made up of ordinary local craftsmen have saved over an estimated 70,000 victims. Unfortunately, rebel forces are not the only ones being targeted, it is said that the Syrian and Russian troops often target neighborhoods they have already bombed in an attempt to take out rescuers.
Smokehouse is familiar with warfare related topics, having a hand in developing Syriana and Argo. Plans for this feature are still in the early stages but they will set a writer to develop a script and try to make this into a working drama.
Below is the trailer for the documentary The White Helmets.
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