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Allan James Francovich (March 23, 1941 – April 17, 1997) was an American film maker. He is best known for creating a number of films critical of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA), linking them to terrorist attacks during the Cold War in Africa, South America and Europe. The most notable of these are the ''Gladio'' (1992) series about Operation Gladio which featured on

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's ''

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'' and ''

The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie ''The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie'' is a documentary film about the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Produced, written, and directed by Allan Francovich and financed by Tiny Rowland, the film was released by Hemar Enterprises in Novemb ...

'' (1994) about Pan Am Flight 103.

Background

Francovich was born in

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, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

engineering family. His father, Aldo Francovich, worked as a mining engineer for Cerro de Pasco mining company in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

; as a child he lived in high altitude mining towns and witnessed the extreme poverty of the miners. He attended an elite preparatory school in Lima then came to the U.S. to attend Notre Dame University, where he completed a B.A. He lived in Paris for several years, studying freelance at the Sorbonne before coming to Berkeley. There he finished an M.A. in Dramatic Arts at UC, Berkeley; he also studied film briefly at Stanford and received a grant to study film from the American Film Institute in 1970. He and translator and writer

Kathleen Weaver Kathleen Weaver (born 1945) is an American writer and editor, who was born in Sioux City, Iowa. Education Raised in Polo, Illinois, she went on to study art and political science at the University of Edinburgh. After, she earned a B.A. and M.A. ...

were married in 1970; the two separated amicably and were divorced in 1986. She collaborated on his films during the time of their marriage.

Lockerbie bombing

Allan Francovich produced, wrote and directed '' The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie'', a documentary which challenged the official view that Libya was responsible for the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103. Instead, an unwitting drug mule, with links to Hezbollah and to both the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

(DEA) and the CIA, was argued to have carried the bomb on board the aircraft. The documentary was funded by

Tiny Rowland Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland (; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in ...

. When his British production company, Hemar Enterprises, released the film in November 1994, it was immediately threatened with legal action by lawyers acting for a US government official (believed to have been the DEA's Michael Hurley). Screenings of the film at the 1994 London Film Festival, at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

and at several universities were prevented. But Labour MP

Tam Dalyell Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet, , ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish Labour Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. He represented West Lothian from 1962 to 198 ...

ignored libel warnings and went ahead and showed the film at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on November 16, 1994.

Channel 4 television Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

decided to broadcast the film in Britain on May 11, 1995. A spokeswoman responded to critics of the decision by saying that "it needed to be shown to a wider public".

Letter to ''The Guardian''

The day after the Channel 4 broadcast, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' published a letter from Francovich headed "The Lockerbie smears":

The attacks by the UK and US authorities on my film ''The Maltese Double Cross'' (UK and US scorn Lockerbie film, May 11) are exactly what we predicted would happen. The aim is to smear people in the film in order to divert attention from the mass of evidence that supports our claims. The film shows how Lockerbie was masterminded by
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Syria, not
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, and that the bomb got on the plane through a botched US intelligence operation based on Middle East drugs and hostages. Elements within western intelligence knew what was happening but failed to act. The authorities can never admit this, as to do so would make Watergate look like a vicar's tea party. The smears referred to have been circulating for years and have been used to attack anyone who has suggested that US government agencies have dirty hands in the affair. The latest round of attacks was begun in a letter to Tam Dalyell MP by a Todd Leventhal, of the US Information Agency, who has the
Orwellian "Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by pro ...
title "Program Officer for Countering Disinformation and Misinformation". It is disturbing that the supposedly independent Scottish
Crown Office The Crown Office, also known (especially in official papers) as the Crown Office in Chancery, is a section of the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department). It has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain a ...
should choose to repeat Leventhal's allegations without question. The full Crown Office statement states that the Lord Advocate deprecates all attempts to give a version of the Lockerbie story while criminal proceedings are pending. It goes on: "The proper place for such issues to be explored is in a criminal court." This argument was substantially undermined on November 15, 1991, only a day after the indictments were issued against the two Libyan accused. On that day the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
issued "fact sheets" which detailed the evidence against the two accused. The information they contained has been repeated in numerous media reports and at least two books published in the UK since that time. One of the media reports was an item about how the Scottish and US authorities "solved" the Lockerbie case, contained in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
"How Do They Do That?" programme broadcast on February 15, 1994. It featured the former Chief Constable of Dumfries and Galloway, John Boyd. So far as we are aware, neither the Crown Office nor the
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
ever issued similarly critical statements against the BBC, John Boyd, or any of the other broadcasters, newspapers or book publishers which have raked over the evidence. The British and US authorities insist that the Lockerbie case is still open. Yet during the months my team has been investigating the subject, not one approach has been made by these authorities to see any of the new evidence we have gathered. Is it any wonder that the Libyans are reluctant to stand trial in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
or the US?

Because of the likelihood of legal action, ''The Maltese Double Cross - Lockerbie'' has never been publicly screened in America. It can however be viewe
here
on the internet, by scrolling down to ''Allan Francovich - The Maltese Double Cross''.

Death

Francovich suffered a fatal heart attack in a Customs area at

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 5 ...

in Houston, Texas, on April 17, 1997, whilst entering the United States from England; he was 56. His films and papers are archived by the

Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

, in Berkeley, California.

Reception

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilge ...

described Francovich's films as "extraordinary" political documentary films, with particular praise for ''The Maltese Double Cross'' - which "destroyed the official truth that Libya was responsible". Lee Kreindler, the head of a legal team for American families of Pan Am 103 victims, alleged that Francovich approached the American families and misrepresented himself by not mentioning the

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

n financing of the film and by saying he was a friend of John Merritt, a journalist from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' who had the respect of the American families. Daniel Cohen, the father of Pan Am 103 victim Theodora Cohen, said that in his eyes Francovich was "completely discredited" since Francovich did not mention the Libyan financing.

Jim Swire Herbert Swire (born 1936), best known as Jim Swire, is an English doctor best known for his involvement in the aftermath of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, in which his daughter Flora was killed. Swire lobbied toward a solution for the dif ...

, the head of a British Pan Am 103 family group, supported Francovich.

Filmography

''On Company Business'' (1976)

Documentary about the CIA, with exclusive use of interviews with current and former CIA employees such as

David Atlee Phillips David Atlee Phillips (October 31, 1922 – July 7, 1988) was a Central Intelligence Agency officer of 25 years and a recipient of the Career Intelligence Medal. Phillips rose to become the CIA's chief of operations for the Western hemisphere. In 19 ...

and

L. Fletcher Prouty Leroy Fletcher Prouty (January 24, 1917 – June 5, 2001)Carlson, Michael"L Fletcher Prouty: US officer obsessed by the conspiracy theory of President Kennedy's assassination"( obituary). ''The Guardian'' (June 21, 2001). Archived frothe original ...

. Won the International Critics Award for Best Documentary at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

. ''On Company Business'' was completed with funds from the International Documentary Fund, administered by the TV Lab at

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''Gladio'' (1992)

In three programmes shown over consecutive weeks in BBC2's ''

'' strand, produced by Kimi Zabihyan Observer Films, Allan Francovich interviewed key

Gladio Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European intelligence agencies during ...

players such as Propaganda Due head,

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, Italian

neofascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration se ...

and

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Vincenzo Vinciguerra Vincenzo Vinciguerra (born 3 January 1949) is an Italian neo-fascist activist, a former member of the ''Avanguardia Nazionale'' ("National Vanguard") and '' Ordine Nuovo'' ("New Order"). He is currently serving a life-sentence for the murder of thr ...

, Venetian judge Felice Casson, Italian Gladio commander General Gerardo Serravale,

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Senator

Roger Lallemand Roger Lallemand (; 17 January 1932 – 20 October 2016) was a Wallonia, Walloon lawyer, socialist politician, and president of the Belgian Senate. Education He graduated as a licentiate in Romance languages, Romance philology and obtained a docto ...

, Belgian

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Martial Lekue and former CIA director

William Colby William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920 – May 6, 1996) was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976. During World War II Colby served with the Office of Strateg ...

. Also included was "hoaxer" Oswald LeWinter.

Selected films

* ''The Lobster Pot'' (1973). Directed by Allan Francovich. * ''Chile in the Heart'' (1975). Directed by Allan Francovich. * ''San Francisco Good Times'' (1977). Directed with Gene Rosow. * ''The Houses are Full of Smoke'' (1987). Produced and directed by Allan Francovich. Nominated for Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 1988. . ** Pt. 1: Guatemala. ** Pt. 2: El Salvador. ** Pt. 3: Nicaragua. * ''On Company Business: Inside the CIA'' (1987). Written and directed by Allan Francovich. Produced with Howard Dratch. . * ''Short Circuit'' (1985). Directed by Allan Francovich. On the murder of nuns in El Salvador. * ''Dark Passage'' (1990). Directed by Allan Francovich. Produced by Kimi Zabinhyan for Observer Films. * "Murder in Mississippi." In: ''Secret History'' (Dec. 12, 1991). 01E05 * ''

'' (1994). Written and directed by Allan Francovich.

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

** Best Documentary prize,

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

, 1995.

Literature

* John Douglas-Gray in his thriller, ''The Novak Legacy''. .

References

External links

*
Francovich’s FBI file
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Video

* Operation Gladio (1992) - Watch the complete documentary online at

. * Alternative Views #074: The CIA: On Company Business (1980) - Allan Francovich talks with ex-CIA agent John Stockwell about ''On Company Business'' on Alternative Views. * Alternative Views #167: Making a Movie About the CIA (1982) - Allan Francovich talks about ''On Company Business'' on Alternative Views. {{DEFAULTSORT:Francovich, Allan 1941 births 1997 deaths American film producers Operation Gladio Place of birth missing 20th-century American businesspeople American people of Jewish descent People from New York City