Makers of 7 Days in Entebbe tracked down a relative of one of the actual hijackers of the 1976 raid as part of their research for the film.

7 Days in Entebbe, directed by Jose Padilha and starring Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl in the lead roles, is a riveting thriller inspired by true events from the much talked about 1976 Air France Tel Aviv-Paris flight hijack incident. The film spans the journey of how a shocking act of terrorism leads to one of the most daring hostage rescue missions ever.

Being a film based on true events, authenticity was not the only factor. The film, as per Padilha's vision needed to also be one with a balance of different perspectives. Eager to include as many different points of view of the event as possible, the filmmakers sought to explore the mindsets of the hijackers themselves. Since none of the terrorists survived the raid, writer Gregory Burke conducted research including speaking with individuals with direct knowledge of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and their political beliefs and motivations.

To help shed additional light on the hijackers thought process, producer Kate Solomon and her team also turned to a 1990 documentary on the subject. “They managed to find the cousin of Jaaber, one of the original Entebbe hijackers who talked about some of the things that were then included in our script, including what kind of person Jaaber was, how he loved his country, and how he felt he was a martyr,” says Solomon.

Anil D. Ambani led Reliance Entertainment will release “7 Days in Entebbe” on March 16, 2018.