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New documentary The Princess immerses audiences in Diana's story

New documentary The Princess immerses audiences in Diana's story

The filmmakers hope to offer a new perspective of the late princess' life and public image, 25 years after her death.
29 Jun, 2022

Oscar-nominated director Ed Perkins trawled through hundreds of hours of footage of Princess Diana in search of moments he hoped would offer new perspective on her life and public image, 25 years after her death.

His new film The Princess relies entirely on archive video to trace Diana’s life from a timid teen to her death on Aug 31, 1997, aged 36, and the unprecedented scenes of mourning that ensued.

In eschewing interviews and retrospective analysis traditionally used as the narrative tool in documentaries, Perkins said he hoped to explore the complicated relationship between Diana, the media and the public and elicit an emotional response from audiences.

"Our hope was to use the archive as a kind of time machine to take audiences back into our collective pasts and allow them to relive the story," he told Reuters.

Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters

Perkins, who was 11 when Diana died and remembers the confusion he felt over the outpouring of emotion, said he hoped his style of filmmaking would encourage audiences to reanalyse their own relationship with the princess.

"The thing that's most interesting for me is what was our role in this? What was our active role in the story? What was our complicity?" said Perkins, who earned a 2019 Oscar nomination for the documentary short Black Sheep.

"The part of the Diana story of this puzzle that I felt was less explored and more interesting for me was, what does Diana's story say about all of us? And so that's the whole approach here, to kind of immerse audiences in this present tense unfolding, to never let you escape from the archive, to take you back into these moments in all our lives."

Diana had just turned 20 when she married Charles in 1981 and became the subject of global admiration and scrutiny. The collapse of their marriage, which she blamed on Charles' lover and future wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, only fuelled media and public interest in Diana, who died when a limousine in which she was riding crashed in a Parisian tunnel as she fled the paparazzi.

The Princess will be released in theatres in Britain on June 30.

Comments

M. Saeed Jun 29, 2022 11:48am
What a tragic story of a great princess! She and her spouse, had a great liking for Pakistan due to some of the unknown reasons. Hope this angle is covered in the film on her life.
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Hamed Jun 29, 2022 01:48pm
I hope the film shows the truth. Who paid the film makers money.
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Syed A. Mateen Jun 29, 2022 03:21pm
I am sure when the film 'The Princess' will be released on June 30 people still in love Princess Diana would go to watch movie. Princess Diana is still alive in the hearts of millions of people across the globe but it was very tragic how she died in car accident when paparazzi were following her. The couple of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was known to be an ideal couple, not because they belong to Royal Family, but the reason was that couple was a perfect couple at their young age. Though Camila was in love with Prince Charles despite this when Prince Charles met with Princess Diana the Prince preferred to get married with Princess Diana. Camila who was in love with Prince Charles did not get married with any other person and waited until Princess Diana exited from Prince Charles life. Camila got married with Prince Charles at an elderly age leaving behind the question as who loved Prince Charles more, Princess Diana or Camila Parker? Finally, Camila got her life partner.
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Tajammal Jun 29, 2022 04:13pm
Great Princess ever born in the UK (May be in the world).
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