Film traces legendary war reporter from New Zealand to China

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He earned his fame by telling the truth as he saw it from the world's war zones -- and invited the wrath of some of the most powerful people in the world.

Now Peter Arnett teaches young journalism students in the city of Shantou, in south China's Guangdong Province.

And soon the iconic New Zealander, who ushered in the era of live television war reporting during the first Gulf War in 1991, will be the subject of a feature-length documentary.

"Words of War" will follow Arnett as he travels from his childhood home in the small town of Riverton, in the far south of New Zealand's South Island, as he revisits hot spots, such as Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, where he made his name.

Film creator and co-producer Bruce Nixon, of Auckland-based Nixon Pictures, said he was surprised to find the 78-year-old Arnett passing on the benefit of his experience to young journalism students in China.

"This is a man who made a career by going to some of the most dangerous places imaginable and achieving two things: one, coming through it unscathed; and two, speaking truth to governments," Nixon told Xinhua in a phone interview.

Arnett, as a young Associated Press correspondent, was one of a new generation of journalists who brought the truth about the Vietnam War into the living rooms of the United States.

His reports earned him a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1966, but it also incurred the anger of the U.S. leadership, with presidential aide Jack Valenti writing in a briefing to President Lyndon Johnson that Arnett was a "problem": "He's been more damaging to the U.S. cause than a whole battalion of Viet Cong."

REALITY OF WAR

When Arnett was left alone in Baghdad for CNN during the 1991 Gulf War, he reported how U.S. smart bombs had destroyed a baby formula factory, identified by the U.S. as a biological weapons plant, and killed civilians sheltering in a "military bunker."

Then U.S. Senator Alan Simpson branded him a "sympathizer" of the Iraqi regime and then President George H. Bush's White House press secretary said the CNN reports played "into the hands of Saddam Hussein."

His exclusive interviews with Saddam Hussein, in 1991, and Osama bin Laden, in 1997, drew similar condemnation, and pressure from powerful critics in the U.S. led to him parting ways with at least two major television news organizations.

At home, however, the New Zealand government showed its appreciation of his work when it honored Arnett with the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to journalism last year.

But he's still relatively little known among New Zealanders, said Nixon.

"He's world famous and yet not so much here to any large degree, " he said.

"Then again, I also feel that we are a nation of people who get very excited when one of our own is doing well overseas."

"Words of War" director John Hagen is one of those excited by Arnett's story.

"His stories were enthralling, his life seemed exciting and inspirational; in short, he was my hero," Hagen told Xinhua in an e-mail interview.

"In truth he changed my life. The reality of the Vietnam War came crashing into our living room via the front page of the newspaper and later on the television."

Arnett's experiences in war zones had given him "a sort of mythical worldiness."

"He's the only guy I know who's met Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein; he's the only guy I know who's had American Presidents furious with him; and he's the only guy I know who's stood up for the truth he believes in against all comers," said Hagen.

POWER TO HELP

That adulation was shared by his Chinese students at Shantou University, said Nixon.

"I know the Chinese students adore him. He's a bit like a film star -- I've seen pictures of him surrounded by adoring fans," he said.

Arnett, who was invited to teach at Shantou in 2007, told a Greek news organization in 2011 that "not only was my sense of wonder and excitement stimulated in China, but so was my professionalism."

Speaking of his students, he said, "I see one of my tasks as putting the finishing touches on their personalities as they prepare to enter the work place. I see another task to grow their excitement about journalism and its power to help society achieve its social and political goals."

Nixon said Arnett remains the consummate media professional.

"He was very professional in the way he came across when we were filming. He would adjust his hair and the way he spoke to the camera," said Nixon.

"We hope our film will reveal the real Peter Arnett."

The film-makers are hoping to capture Arnett at work in China this year, and are seeking funding from the New Zealand Film Commission so they can complete it next year for screening at film festivals around the world.

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