Vancouver – Producer/director David Paperny is developing Confessions of an Innocent Man, a feature-length documentary based on the book of the same name by William Sampson, the Canadian businessman who was interrogated, tortured and held in solitary confinement in a Saudi Arabian prison for more than two years. He was released in 2003 and published his book last year.

‘Having traveled extensively in foreign countries myself, an unjust capture and imprisonment is always a nagging personal fear,’ says Paperny. ‘Human rights abuses and international torture is one of most pressing global issues… Sampson’s story is extremely important and timely, both in Canada and around the world.’

Paperny says Sampson wanted to finish his book before considering the documentary project. The director calls the film his biggest and most ambitious to date, adding it will be given an ‘intimate treatment,’ in the same vein as his Oscar-nominated 1993 doc The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter, about a Vancouver doctor dying of AIDS.

Produced by Vancouver-based Paperny Films, the docudrama is budgeted at about $1.5 million. Development funding has come from the National Film Board, CBC and Telefilm Canada. The HD shoot, says Paperny, will take place primarily in Canada and the U.K., beginning in the spring. He hopes to have the film ready by 2007 for a festival run and theatrical release.