My Country, My Country
2006, 90 minutes
Directed by Laura Poitras
Working alone in Iraq over eight months, director and cinematographer Laura Poitras creates an extraordinarily intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Her principal focus is Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six, and Sunni political candidate. An outspoken critic of the occupation, he is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq, arguing that Sunni participation in the January 2005 elections is essential. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Dramatically interwoven into the personal journey of Dr. Riyadh is the landscape of the U.S. military occupation, with Australian private security contractors, American journalists, and the UN officials who orchestrate the elections. Unfolding like a narrative drama, My Country, My Country follows the agonizing predicament of one man struggling with the tragic conflict shadowing the U.S. occupation of Iraq. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2007.
Director’s Statement
This film was motivated by a sense of despair about the contradictions in the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its project to implement democracy in the Middle East through the use of military force. I wanted to understand these contradictions from the perspective of the people living them, on the ground. I spent eight months in Iraq, from June 2004 to February 2005. I worked alone in the field, operating camera and sound. I met Dr. Riyadh in July 2004 at Abu Ghraib Prison while he was conducting an inspection. Although My Country, My Country focuses on the January 2005 elections, it is a broader story about U.S. foreign policy post-9/11. The use of preemptive military force and the goal of implementing democracy in the Middle East mark a radical shift in U.S. and world politics. The January 2005 elections were the first to be held after the U.S. invasion, and thus are, in some ways, a testing ground for this new era.
Director’s Bio
Laura Poitras received a Peabody Award for her last documentary, Flag Wars (2003). Flag Wars received numerous other awards, including Best Documentary at the 2003 SXSW Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and the Filmmaker Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Flag Wars had its U.S. television premiere on PBS’s P.O.V. documentary series, and was nominated for both a 2004 Independent Spirit Award and a 2004 Emmy Award. Laura’s past work includes Oh Say Can You See ...? (2003), and Exact Fantasy (1995). She studied filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute and the New School. She currently resides in New York City.
