Joining an event on IMDb's Film Festivals page,I spotted that one of the films was by the journalist who uncovered the full extent of the activates that military contracting firm Blackwater (now called Academi) was involved in the Middle East,which led to me getting ready to find out how dirty wars could be.
The outline of the documentary:
Learning about a number of raids which have been conducted in Afghanistan by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) journalist Jeremy Scahill decides to investigate a raid which was to later be called the Khataba raid,where 5 people (including two pregnant women and a teenage girl) were killed by US Army Rangers.Meeting the victim's families in Afghanistan,Scahill soon discovers that it is impossible to get the US gov to admit to any activities in the Middle East.
View on the film:
Being unable to get insurance for visiting three "troubled" countries (Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia) the footage that director Rick Rowley shoots displays a remarkable clarity,with Rowley allowing the war lords to be clearly seen.Visiting the sights of deadly raids and travelling with war lords,Rowley and Scahill display a real care in making sure that the violent aftermaths are not the focus of the title,with full attention being paid to the survivors of the raids and drone strikes. Inspired by his book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, Jeremy Scahill takes centre stage as the "voice" of the film.Whilst his dedication to the subject is easy to see, Scahill sadly appears unwilling to let his interviewees get the full attention,with Rowley firmly positioning the camera in every interview so that Scahill is the most prominent person,which leads to the movie not uncovering the full dirt on the dirty wars.
The outline of the documentary:
Learning about a number of raids which have been conducted in Afghanistan by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) journalist Jeremy Scahill decides to investigate a raid which was to later be called the Khataba raid,where 5 people (including two pregnant women and a teenage girl) were killed by US Army Rangers.Meeting the victim's families in Afghanistan,Scahill soon discovers that it is impossible to get the US gov to admit to any activities in the Middle East.
View on the film:
Being unable to get insurance for visiting three "troubled" countries (Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia) the footage that director Rick Rowley shoots displays a remarkable clarity,with Rowley allowing the war lords to be clearly seen.Visiting the sights of deadly raids and travelling with war lords,Rowley and Scahill display a real care in making sure that the violent aftermaths are not the focus of the title,with full attention being paid to the survivors of the raids and drone strikes. Inspired by his book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, Jeremy Scahill takes centre stage as the "voice" of the film.Whilst his dedication to the subject is easy to see, Scahill sadly appears unwilling to let his interviewees get the full attention,with Rowley firmly positioning the camera in every interview so that Scahill is the most prominent person,which leads to the movie not uncovering the full dirt on the dirty wars.