Documentary Film: Iraq in Fragments March 17, 2007

Co-Sponsored by Peace Action Maine

2pm, $6, All ages

American director James Longley (Gaza Strip) spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. An opus in three parts, Iraq In Fragments offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied.

Winner of Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Editing awards in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival documentary competition, the film was also nominated for a 2006 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. (94 m)

Official Website: http://www.space538.org/