Watch NOW
Airdate: Friday, October 13, 2006, at 8:30 p.m. on PBS.
(Check local listings.)
An American woman’s startling tale of life in Iraq. This time on NOW.
Filmmaker Laura Poitras spent eight dangerous months documenting the life of an Iraqi medical doctor and his family as they struggled to maintain hope amidst the bombings, bloodshed, and military occupation. When she returned to America, Poitras was labeled with the highest possible threat rating from the Department of Homeland Security. Her resulting film, “My Country, My Country,” is an intimate portrait of daily life in the war zone. On Friday October 13, at 8:30 pm, NOW’s David Brancaccio talks to Poitras about her eye-opening experiences working on what The Village Voice calls “the most valuable piece of film to emerge about the war in all of its three years.”
Poitras’ film will debut on the PBS documentary series “POV” on October 25.
Note: Starting this Friday, the NOW Website will offer more clips from “My Country, My Country”, insight into the life and work of Laura Poitras, and more perspective on life in Iraq.
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“My Country, My Country” opens nationally in theaters on August 4th. For more information, visit the Filmmaker’s Website.
‘My Country, My Country’ from EPIC
News of the independent film that is taking audiences into the heart of war-ravaged Iraq and into the home of Dr. Riyahd. Today I am pleased to tell you that MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY is now coming to television.
On Wednesday, October 25th, at 9 pm EST (check your local listings ), this critically acclaimed film will be shown on PBS’s P.O.V. Let us know if you plan to tune in.
ABOUT THE FILM: From June 2004 to February 2005, director/producer Laura Poitras spent 8 months alone in Baghdad making the film. She explains: “I was motivated by a sense of despair about the war, and a desire to reveal what was happening in Iraq through the stories of people on the ground.”
The result is a powerful film that captures what the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) is all about: educating Americans about what is really happening inside Iraq and connecting concerned citizens like you to the relief and development organizations and people who are making a difference on the ground, often at great personal risk.
You can help us spread the word by emailing your family and friends about this important television event.
We also need your help to raise awareness about what has become the deadliest international conflict of the 21st century. This week, the respected peer-reviewed public health journal The Lancet published a new Iraq mortality survey conducted by epidemiologists at John Hopkins University and Baghdad’s Al-Mustansiriya University. The survey estimates that 655,000 more Iraqis have died since the war began in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred. Of those deaths, more than 600,000 are attributed to violence.
Behind each of those deaths, there is a story. On Tuesday, the same day that the survey was released, EPIC lost a dear friend.
Abdel-Sattar Abdullah Al-Mashhadani was a key humanitarian aid worker for LIFE for Relief and Development (LIFE), a Michigan-based aid organization that EPIC is proud to have worked with over the years. Abdel-Sattar oversaw many of LIFE’s humanitarian projects in Iraq, including the opening of medical clinics, school renovations, and most recently, the completion of a major water treatment plant project in southern Iraq.
On October 10, 2006, Abdel-Sattar died in his native Iraq. Eyewitnesses report that his taxi was stopped at a checkpoint run by a sectarian militia near his home in Baghdad’s Huriyah district. After showing his ID, he and his driver were pulled from the car and killed.
According to a statement by LIFE: “Many who had worked with Abdel-Sattar describe him as being a quiet, polite and kind man. He was 43 years, and is survived by his four children, his pregnant wife who is expecting to deliver in 2 months, and three brothers.”
Please consider sharing Abdel-Sattar’s story with a friend, and help us educate more Americans about the people who are risking their lives to make a difference in Iraq.
EPIC Promoting a free and secure Iraq since 1998
