IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of 2006 is now available as 2-Disc Special Edition DVD from Typecast Releasing!

An opus in three parts, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied.

American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Winner of Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Editing awards in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival documentary competition, the film also earned the Grand Jury Prize at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards.
isc One:

* 'Iraq in Fragments'
Audio: Arabic & Kurdish 2.0, 5.1
Video: 1.85 / 16x9
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese
Features: Feature length audio commentary from director James Longley

Disc Two:

* 'Sari's Mother' (22 minutes)
Audio: Arabic 2.0
Video: 1.85 / 16x9
Subtitles: English
Features: Audio commentary with director James Longley

The Zegum family lives in the restive Mahmudiyah area of central Iraq, where they make their living by selling milk and butter and by farming land rented from their neighbors. After being accidentally infected with the HIV virus, ten-year-old Sari Zegum's health gradually deteriorates as his immune system begins to fail. "Sari's Mother" chronicles his mother's heroic dedication as she tirelessly navigates her way through the chaotic labyrinth of the Iraqi health-care system after the US invasion, while continuing to provide urgent care to her beloved son.

* 'Iraq Before the War' (14 minutes)
Audio: 2.0
James Longley's short comprised of footage taken before the conflict in Iraq.

* 'An Interview with James Longley' (20 minutes)
Audio:  English 2.0
Video: 4:3
Respected film critic Robert Horton interviews James Longley on the production of Iraq in Fragments and his experiences in Iraq.

If you live in or around Portland, Oregon or Vancouver, British Columbia, don't miss Iraq In Fragments this weekend!

This may be your only chance to catch the recently Academy Award nominated film before the big awards show in February.

In Portland, the film screens at Regal's Fox Tower 10 beginning tonight [link].

In Vancouver, catch it starting tonight at the Vancity Theatre [link].

More information about the film, including reviews & other honors, at the official site, www.iraqinfragments.com.

Thanks!
Your pals at Typecast Films.

Iraq In Fragments has been nominated for Best Documentary by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (AMPAS)!

Also up for an Oscar in this category are
"Deliver Us From Evil"
"An Inconvenient Truth"
"Jesus Camp"
"My Country, My Country"

Congrats to all!

Director James Longley has been nominated for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary for 2006 by the Director's Guild of America (DGA) for his work "Iraq In Fragments"!

From the Hollywood Reporter:
"At its best, documentary filmmaking elevates the disparate elements of lives and events into a narrative that is both compelling and insightful," DGA president Michael Apted said. "It takes a skilled director to achieve this feat, and this year's five nominees exemplify that devotion and storytelling expertise."

Winners will be announced February 3rd.

More info at the DGA website:
http://www.dga.org/

Copied from original post, available here

Iraq docs, 1/11.

Chris Barsanti finds "the number of intelligent people I've heard say or seen write that they're sick of all the Iraq documentaries" an "odd, and somewhat troubling reaction":

Like it or not, this war is our responsibility. It doesn't matter if you voted for Dubya or not, Americans invaded Iraq and as Americans we bear that blame. In short: we don't have the right to be disinterested in this war. It's offensive to the people (Iraqis and Americans) dying over there right now to act above it all, as though the war is just another TV show we've become tired of.

Maybe an Oscar angle will rekindle interest. Perhaps that what Ed Pilkington was thinking when he wrote his piece in the Guardian on Iraq in Fragments, The War Tapes, My Country, My Country and The Ground Truth: "Of the four Iraq documentaries to make the Oscar longlist, [James] Longley's is the most obviously cinematic, which may well endear him to the Academy."

Similarly, Stephen Applebaum in the Independent on Iraq in Fragments, where he quickly makes the point that it does indeed stand a chance against An Inconvenient Truth so that he can get to the meat of his piece, his talk with Longley - who tells him, "I think a lot of what was done by the United States when they entered the country served to fan the flames of sectarian division and ethnic division."

Shaken by The Ground Truth, Edward Copeland finds the way "the military has treated those suffering psychological trauma... just as much an infuriating fuckup as this entire foolish enterprise has proved to be."

Related: At openDemocracy, Paul Rogers explains why "the Bush administration's decision to surge the forces in Iraq is good news for al-Qaida."

Posted by dwhudson at January 11, 2007 1:08 PM

Upcoming screenings of  Iraq In Fragments...

Rose Theatre
235 Taylor Street
Port Townsend , WA 98368
OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12th

Mountain Top Film Festival
Waitsfield , VT