The opera deals with the hijacking of the Achille Lauro, a Mediterranean cruise ship, by Palestinian terrorists in 1985. The tragedy culminated in the murder of a Jewish American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer.

Woolcock’s film is a complete reworking of that original staged version. She has used the techniques afforded by film to infuse the opera narrative with realism and dimensionality, making a highbrow form accessible. Rather than simply record a static staging, she goes on location in the Mediterranean, and takes the camera close into the heart of the action capturing the terror and chaos of the hijacking. She recreates in minute detail the lurid glamour of the 1980s on board the ship but the setting contrasts starkly with the terrible events therein.

When The Death of Klinghoffer premiered in the United States in 1991 it generated tremendous controversy. At one extreme, it was called a Zionist plot. At the other, the creators were denounced as unabashedly pro-Palestinian for humanizing the terrorists. Adams’ aim was to give voice to the heart-breaking suffering of both the Israelis and Palestinians. Woolcock’s film addresses the complexity of the conflict head on, building on Adams’ intention by fleshing out further the motivations of everyone involved in the incident and using archive footage to set the event in the context of the Middle East war as a whole.

Klinghoffer - winner of the Prix Italia 2003. Screened in competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2003, Rotterdam Film Festival 2003, San Francisco Film Festival, Lincoln Centre New York and numerous film festivals around the world.

“The Death of Klinghoffer is nothing short of stunning… it comes sensationally alive.” The Telegraph

“The first real masterpiece in cinematic opera. The Death of Klinghoffer demands to be seen.” LA Times