EDITING


Animated sequences were created by filmmaker and artist Martyn Pick


Boson. Amirani is a physicist, as well as documentary maker, and helped with notes on a fine cut of Particle Fever, later interviewing Murch at Sheffield DocFest about his work on the feature.


QUESTIONING AUTHORITY By 2015, Murch and Amirani had become friends and Amirani asked Murch to advise on Coup 53. The timing was on his side. Murch was planning to come to London for six months, roughly the original time-frame for the documentary. He signed on to collaborate and ended up staying in the UK for four years, until the completion of the film. “Once I commit that’s it,” says Murch.


“It’s part of my DNA. If I agree to be on a film, whatever the circumstances, whatever the salary, I stick with it.” Murch’s credits include many


films that question political decision making. “Maybe the common thread is a scepticism about the capitalist system in its raw form,” says Murch.


In 2005, he worked with director Sam Mendes on the feature Jarhead, about the marines in the Gulf War. Murch had read the history of Iran and knew some of Mossadegh’s story. Murch is credited as both editor


and co-writer of Coup 53. “Any editor working on an unscripted documentary should get credit as a writer,” he believes. “You’re working with the alphabet at your command – images and sounds in a timeline. You have more freedom because you are an author of the piece.” When he came on board, there


were around 40 hours of archive and video diary, which showed Amirani unearthing evidence about the involvement of the CIA and MI6 in the coup. There was no plan to include this in the documentary, but Murch describes footage from a visit to the US National Security Archive, where Amirani was given access to a filing cabinet with documents about the coup. “There was this moment, when Taghi was looking at this draw


“ONCE I COMMIT THAT’S IT. IT’S PART OF MY


DNA. IF I AGREE TO BE ON A FILM, WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES,


WHATEVER THE SALARY, I STICK WITH IT.”


WALTER MURCH CO-WRITER & EDITOR


Summer 2023 televisual.com


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