Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

As we approach the end of the third year of the war with Iraq, it is not surprising that several Sundance films center on that topic. There are two films in the Independent Documentary Competition category. THE GROUND TRUTH: AFTER THE KILLING ENDS explores the impact of the war on the soldiers deployed in the conflict. Everything from military deceptions that encourage enlistment to battlefield predicaments and post-war recovery problems are examined. The film reveals the humans of combat. In the same way, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS reveals the fears, needs, goals and trials of ordinary Iraqi citizens living in the gruesome shadow of the war. Daily survival tasks are contrasted with incendiary political arguments to evoke day-to-day life in contemporary Iraq. The World Documentary Competition category also offers THE SHORT LIFE OF JOSE ANTONIO GUTIERREZ. A Guatemalan emigrant to the United States, Jose was the first soldier killed in the Iraq War. In the quest to improve his life, Gutierrez became the first to die in the “war on terror.” All three films expand the statistics and sound bites of evening news into a deeper understanding of the larger impact of war.

The Filmmaker Lodge hosts two exciting programs on the topic as well. A MATTER OF RECORD: DOCUMENTARY AND WAR (26 Jan) brings together the directors of these films and (as well as the director of the documentary, KZ, about the residents of Mauthausen, a town famous as the site of a Nazi concentration camp). They debate the art and the duty of making films about global events including the desire to capture compelling images and create aesthetically-satisfying narratives. Another panel discussion, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY (22 Jan), include several film directors from the Arab world. These filmmakers offer their voices, visions and challenges in telling stories from people often perceived as the enemy or the “other.”