1. 27
ESQUIRE: What made you want to make this
documentary?
Harold Monfils: I’d never done a biography
before and wanted to shoot a film about someone
who fascinated me. Jason P Howe’s name came up,
his life read like the adventures of Tin Tin. Long
story short, cameras started rolling in June 2010.
The film began on a completely different premise,
but then something happened, and it took me an-
other five years to finish it.
ESQ: What happened?
HM: Around September 2011, Jason had been em-
bedded with British troops in Afghanistan’s Hel-
mand province. They were doing an IED-clearing
exercise, walking in single file and Jason was the
seventh person to walk through a doorway into a
compound. But then, Private Stephen Bainbridge
who was behind Jason triggered an IED and got his
legs blown off. This was the first time a photogra-
pher was present to document something so hor-
rible as it was happening. Jason captured the after-
math, but it took him six months to get the photos
published.
ESQ: Why did it take so long?
HM: Initially, UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said
he had to respect the soldier’s privacy. When he was
invited to meet Private Bainbridge during his recov-
ery, Jason showed him the pictures he took of the
incident and asked if he was worried about them
being published, and Private Bainbridge said no. At
Film: Hoka Hey, A Good Day to Die
We speak to Malaysian-based Harold Monfils, director of the six-year-long passion
project on acclaimed war photographer, Jason P Howe.
Words by Sim Wie Boon
this point, the MoD’s story changed. They told Jason
there was a policy not to publish pictures of British
soldiers wounded in battle. This really gave meaning
to the saying, “The first casualty of war is the truth.”
ESQ: Why did their story change?
HM: With Private Bainbridge's consent, he went
ahead and published the photos with UK’s Tele-
graph. But when the newspaper called Jason for an-
other tour of Afghanistan, the MoD emailed them
to say that they could take any photographer except
Jason. There was an unofficial ban, and that’s when
his career with British soldiers ended. He took a
big risk. The soldiers wanted the British people to
see what was actually going on. Like Tim Page (vet-
eran Vietnam war photographer) said in this docu-
mentary, the MoD, the DoD (US Department of
Defence) don’t want war to look unappetising, be-
cause the moment it does, you have no more drafts.
ESQ: Was it tough?
HM: Yes, we would spend hours filming at a time
, and each memory he recounted visibly took him
back to the scene, making him remember the pain
and suffering. It definitely can't be good for you,
especially when you’re trying to heal. I remember
him saying he can't wait for this to be over.
ESQ: How is Jason now?
HM: After retiring, he moved to the Spanish coun-
tryside to live in isolation with a pack of dogs and
deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s now
an estate manager living on a ranch in Spain, work-
ing with horses. When I spoke to him recently, he
said working with animals have helped him to heal.
For now, this story has ended. I think we both need
a break from the whole thing. He’s enjoying not
having to talk about his past anymore, so it’s just a
question of moving on from here.
ESQ: What did you take away from making this
documentary?
HM: It changed me as a person and a filmmaker.
It taught me to respect life much more and realise
that no man is an island. I hope that it’s made me a
better person.