Operation Leopard
Synopsis
The film is based on true events: In 1978 approximately 3,000 heavily armed fighters from Katanga crossed the border to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and marched into Kolwezi, a mining centre for copper and cobalt. They took 3,000 civilians as hostages. Within a few days between 90 and 280 hostages were killed. The rebels appeared to be unpredictable and are reported to have threatened to annihilate all civilians. The Congo's head of state Mobutu urged Belgium, France and the United States to help. France sent the Foreign Legion's 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment who were flown from Corsica to Kolwezi. Following their arrival they secured the perimeter in cooperation with Belgian soldiers from Zaire and then started to evacuate the civilians. Within two days more than 2,000 Europeans and about 3,000 African citizens were saved. The film strives to depict these events in a dramatised form, concentrating on the Europeans' plight.
Credits
Director (1)
Actors (18)
Production and distribution (4)
- Executive Producers : Bela Productions, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC)
- Co-production : France 3 Cinéma
- Film exports/foreign sales : Tamasa Distribution
- French distributors : Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC), Groupement des Editeurs de Films (GEF)
Full credits (16)
- Executive Producer : Georges De Beauregard
- Screenwriters : André G. Brunelin, Raoul Coutard
- Director of Photography : Georges Liron
- Music Composer : Serge Franklin
- Assistant Director : Philippe Charigot
- Editor : Michel Lewin
- Sound Recordist : Michel Laurent
- Author of original work : Jean-Pierre Sergent
- Sound Assistant : Michel Mellier
- Camera Operator : Jean Garcenot
- Production Manager : Patrick Millet
- Sound Editor : Marco Cavé
- Assistant editor : Martine Boullier
- Continuity supervisor : Monique Herran
- Sound Mixer : Jean Nény
- Location managers : Joël Gautier, Marcel Mossotti
Media Gallery
Technical details
- Type : Feature film
- Genres : Fiction
- Sub-genre : War
- Production language : French
- Production country : France
- Original French-language productions : Unspecified
- Production year : 1979
- French release : 09/01/1980
- Runtime : 1 h 40 min
- Current status : Released
- Visa number : 50666
- Visa issue date : 02/01/1980
- Approval : Unknown
- Production formats : 35mm
Box-office & releases
TV broadcasting
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