17 January 2013 Last updated at 04:27 ET

Article written by Will Gompertz Arts editor

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Director defends Zero Dark Thirty torture scenes

Director Kathryn Bigelow has defended the depiction of torture in her latest film Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatisation of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Director Kathryn Bigelow has defended the depiction of torture in her latest film Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatisation of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

"It's part of the story," she told BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz. "To omit it would have been whitewashing history."

Zero Dark Thirty has drawn criticism from within the US government with some senators complaining it perpetuates "the myth that torture is effective".