Iraq - my foreign country

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Movie
German title Iraq - my foreign country
Original title My country, my country
Country of production United States
original language Arabic , English , Kurdish
Publishing year 2006
length 90 minutes
Rod
Director Laura Poitras
script Laura Poitras
production Laura Poitras, Jocelyn Glatzer
music Kazem Al Sahir

Iraq - My Foreign Country is a documentary film by Laura Poitras from 2006. It is about the occupation of Iraq after the Iraq war in spring 2003. The film shows the perspective of the people there and accompanies the doctor and politician Riyadh al-Adhadh. After the film was released, Poitras was put on a watch list by the United States Department of Homeland Security and set around 40 times by the agency. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 2007. Iraq - My Foreign Country is the start of a three-part film series about the global surveillance and espionage affair , the other parts of which are The Oath (2010) and Citizenfour (2014).

action

Iraq - My Foreign Country deals with the state of democracy in the USA and Iraq, for the latter in particular with a view to the 2005 National Assembly elections .

The film follows the Sunni parliamentary candidate Dr. Riyadh al-Adhadh, who as a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party is an opponent of the occupation by the United States. Al-Adhadh works as a salaried doctor in Baghdad . He leads an inspection of the military prison in Abu Ghraib and mediates between the people, some of whom have been detained for over a year without charge - children and the elderly are shown. Al-Adhadh is shown as a figure between extremist fronts: representatives of the radical section of the population who want to fight the US invasion by force are threatening him for insisting on unarmed resistance. The Central Intelligence Agency, in turn, has classified him as " anti-American " and therefore put it on a watch list.

"Although the film focuses on the January 2005 elections, it is a broader story about US foreign policy post-9/11, the use of pre-emptive military force and the goal of implementing democracy in the Middle East mark a radical shift in US policy and world politics. I felt compelled to document this war and its consequences. "

“While the film focuses on the January 2005 [Iraqi] elections, it tells a fuller story about US foreign policy after the September 11, 2001 attacks . The use of Präemtivschlägen and the goal, the Middle East , the democracy to bring, make a radical change in the US strategy and world policy. I felt compelled to document the war and its consequences. "

- Laura Poitras

Consequences for Laura Poitras

Iraq - My foreign country is controversial about the role of the United States. After the film was released, Poitras was put on a watch list by the United States Department of Homeland Security and arrested about 40 times by the agency when entering the United States without a reason or charge being brought. According to her own statements, Poitras was asked in particular about a client for her films about the War on Terror , her computers, film cameras and smartphones were confiscated for weeks. Poitras assumes that the contents of the storage media have been copied. Her handwritten notes have been revoked, as has her credit card statements. Poitras was routinely subjected to a Secondary Security Screening Selection while traveling.

It was only after Glenn Greenwald published an article about what had happened and a petition from around 40 documentary filmmakers to the United States Department of Homeland Security that the US Department of Homeland Security changed its practice. In 2015, Poitras then, with the support of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act against all participating authorities in the United States.

"I'm filing this lawsuit because the government uses the US border to bypass the rule of law. This simply should not be tolerated in a democracy. I am also filing this suit in support of the countless other less high-profile people who have also been subjected to years of Kafkaesque harassment at the borders. We have a right to know how this system works and why we are targeted. "

“I'm filing this lawsuit because the government is using the US border to circumvent the law. This just shouldn't be tolerated in a democracy. I am also bringing this lawsuit to support the countless other, less famous people who have also been exposed to this Kafkaesque chicane on the border for years. We have a right to know how this system works and why we are affected by it. "

- Laura Poitras

Movie title

The film title is based on the Iraqi national anthem Mautini , the Arabic word for "my homeland".

production

Laura Poitras was the article War After the War of George Packer in the magazine The New Yorker inspired , Iraq - My foreign country to turn. Packer's article dealt with various aspects of the war and the occupation, but always kept the human dimension in the foreground. This was a unique selling point in the reporting on Iraq, the article made it clear that the Iraqi people must always be part of the development up to the solution of the conflict. Poitras applied to the US Army's Civil Affairs Command (for example: Department for Civil Affairs of the US Army ) for a filming permit for Iraq in order to be able to film the reconstruction efforts. Her application was approved by a major general after watching Poitras' film Flag Wars . She was granted access to the Green Zone in Baghdad. Locally Poitras expanded its activities and met in Abu Ghraib on Dr. Riyadh.

The shooting lasted a total of eight months. During this time Poitras lived with a family in Adhamiyah , a district of Baghdad.

financing

The film was funded by various foundations : The Independent Television Service (ITVS), the Sundance Documentary Fund of the Sundance Institute (organizer of the Sundance Film Festival ), POV of the Public Broadcasting Station, the Robert and Joyce Menschel Family Fundation , Wellspring Foundation and Appleman Foundation .

Press reviews

"Without comment but with unusual sensitivity, Ms. Poitras, exposes the emotional toll of occupation on Iraqis and American soldiers alike. Nosing around in rubble-strewn neighborhoods and peering through the wire at prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Ms. Poitras and her camera find little to celebrate. "

“Without comment, but with unusual empathy, Poitras describes the emotional price that Iraqis and US soldiers have to pay for the siege. While wandering through the rubble-strewn neighborhoods and looking at the prisoners in Abu Ghraib through the barbed wire, Poitras and her camera find little reason to celebrate. "

- Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times

Film awards

Nominations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Film Description: My Country, My Country , Public Broadcasting Service website, October 25, 2006. Accessed February 2, 2017. ( English )
  2. ↑ Glenn Greenwald : US filmmaker repeatedly detained at border , Salon.com , April 8, 2012. Accessed February 2, 2017. ( English )
  3. ↑ Oscar and Pulitzer Award-winning journalist Laura Poitras Sues US Government To Uncover Records After Years of Airport Detentions and Searches , Electronic Frontier Foundation website, July 13, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2017.
  4. ↑ Exploring the Iraqi Perspective ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , epic-usa.org - Education for Peace in Iraq Center, September 2006. Accessed February 2, 2017. ( English ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.epic-usa.org
  5. ↑ Jeannette Catsoulis: Iraq Under a Microscope in 'My Country, My Country' , The New York Times website, August 4, 2006. Accessed February 2, 2017. ( English )