IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS

(2006) Director: James Longley

DVD
NETFLIX

SUMMARY:

Iraq in Fragments illuminates post-war Iraq in three acts, building a picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. Filmed in verité style with no scripted narration, the film explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis to illustrate and give background to larger trends in Iraqi society.

VIDEO: FULL FEATURE



REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, CREDITS:

A.O. Scott New York Times review
Noel Murray A.V. Club review
Video interview with director James Longley

NOTES:

• 300 hours of material was filmed in Iraq over a period of more than two years for this production. 1600 pages of typed transcripts, translations of material from Arabic and Kurdish, were made before picture and sound editing could begin.
  
• The film was originally intended as a multi-part series on Iraq but was later shortened into a single film when the country became too dangerous to work in.
• Four complete chapters were edited for the film, but only three chapters are included in the final version. The missing chapter deals with the struggle of an Iraqi woman whose 10-year-old son is dying of AIDS.
  
• James Longley traveled to Iraq twice prior to the 2003 war but was unable to begin principal photography until the Saddam Hussein regime collapsed in April 2003.
• Nominated for Best Feature Documentary at 2007 Academy Awards
• Also by James Longley: Gaza Strip (Trailer)