Iraq, still in Fragments

Recent events in Iraq inspired me to post the documentary films I made there on the YouTube platform, so perhaps they could reach a wider audience than they do just embedded on this website.

It’s accurate to say that the United States has been at war with Iraq, in one way or another - either militarily or through crushing sanctions - for decades. Decades of the United States using violence in Iraq - the violence of war and the violence of poverty. I feel a heavy sadness when I think of the injustices that have been done in the name of the United States against the people of Iraq, all to satisfy private greed and prejudice, to satisfy whatever anti-human end.

My response to these wars has been to film the civilians caught up in them, to remember who is most at risk when we needlessly go to war, who is most vulnerable, and who is in the line of fire. I don’t really know if it makes any difference, especially as very few people see the films, but it always seemed to me that people wouldn’t go to war so often if they had ever been near one, or if they could somehow understand what it meant.

Please join me on this small, curated journey through Iraq, circa 2003-2005, in the wake of the US invasion. Experience some of the Iraq that I was able to record, and share these experiences with your friends.

This is the 21-minute short documentary, SARI’S MOTHER (2007):

SARI'S MOTHER Documentary short film about a woman struggling to protect her son and family in post-war Iraq. This film took top honors at the San Francisco International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject.

This is the 94-minute feature documentary, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (2006), which was filmed concurrently with SARI’S MOTHER:

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS [2006] Feature Documentary Film (full movie - English subtitles) For more films and photography, please visit my portfolio site: http://www.jameslongley.com Capturing post-war Iraq in three chapters, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS focuses on the lives of individuals to tell a larger story of a country torn apart by war and ethnic division.

In 2017 I was invited by HKU to conduct a Q&A after a screening of IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, which HKU have kindly edited and can now serve as the Q&A for this online version:

James Longley 在2006年完成的兩部作品《Sari's Mother》《Iraq in Fragments》，均榮獲 #奧斯卡金像獎 提名最佳紀錄片。在危機四伏的伊拉克，James Longley 一個人持相機，分別與12位當地的翻譯合作拍攝兩年，最終帶來《Iraq in Fragments》。 《Iraq in Fragments》以三個發生在伊拉克的故事，呈現戰後伊拉克因宗教和種族而朝著不同方向發展的樣子。這部電影有力地探索了普通伊拉克人的生活：這些人的思想，信念，願望和關切，並說明了當時伊拉克更為深層和嚴重的問題。#香港紀錄片拓展計劃 邀請 James Longley 導演來到 #奧斯卡紀錄片大師班，與我們分享他在紀錄片拍攝、剪輯和製作上的經驗。 《Iraq in Fragments》預告：00:06 【大師班】如何剪輯大量的拍攝素材？20:33 【大師班】如何在語言不通的地區拍攝紀錄片？15:00 【大師班】對在海外拍攝紀錄片的導演有什麼建議？23:05 【導演James Longley】 James Longley曾於加沙地帶及伊拉克拍攝紀錄片，一人擔當所有製作任務，紀錄政治動盪環境下的中東平民生活。由於製作都是低成本或自資的，他會長期與平民家庭為伴，因而可以觸及少數西方電影製作人能到達的地方。 主持人：香港大學新聞及傳媒研究中心總監，瑞凱德教授（Professor Keith Richburg） Filmmaker James Longley's documentary of occupied post-liberation Iraq presents three separate stories that together create a striking portrait of everyday life for average citizens in the war-torn nation.