The first annual World in Crisis Film Festival, a month-long event presented by the University of Mississippi’s Office of International Programs, is in full swing and offers a variety of perspectives on the war in Iraq. The series is comprised of four films, each with its own unique look into the ongoing conflict. Immediately following each film there is a discussion about the war with a different panel each night. The series takes place in the University of Mississippi’s Student Union in rooms 405 A and B at 6 pm every Monday in February.
“The festival was initiated to provide an in-depth examination of significant international crises around the world,” says Michael Johansson, Direct of the OIP. “It is my hope that these documentaries will help to encourage critical thinking and dialog among our students, faculty and other members of the Ole Miss and Oxford communities.”
Each night features a different panel of discussants that provide insight into the war and international politics.
The first in the series, Why We Fight was named after a series of World War II propaganda films that were much more forgiving on the topic of war. The documentary uses President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell speech to the Union, in which he warned of the dangers of a growing military-industrial complex, as its base. From there it explores the relationships between those who profit financially in times of war and those who give the marching orders to our troops. Why We Fight has won several accolades including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
The second film, The Dreams of Sparrows, provides an unfiltered and unflinching look into the months immediately following the US-lead invasion of Iraq. Shot by five Iraqi filmmakers, the film explores the thoughts and feelings of average Iraqis concerning the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein-led Ba’ath Party, the rampant street violence following the regime’s toppling, and the subsequent occupation of their nation by United States forces.
Occupation: Dreamland is the third film in the series. Shot in 2004, it chronicles the lives of twenty-four of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne stationed on the outskirts of Fallujah at the former Ba’ath Party retreat and current US military base dubbed “Dreamland.” In the film the camera crew follows troops on patrol and watches them interrogate locals, kick down doors, seek out enemy weapons caches, and listens as they talk about their homes, why they enlisted, and the everyday pressures infantry must deal with.
The final documentary, Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers, presents a look at the corporations that are handed multi-billion dollar no-bid contracts with very little, if any, government oversight of American taxpayer dollars. The film compares the living conditions of our troops (tents) to those of the contract workers (five-star hotels), explores the differences in pay, and how much money is wasted by the corporations ($99 to wash a single bag of laundry) unfettered by accountability.
Iraq For Sale will be shown Monday, February 26, 2007 at 6:00 PM in room 405 of the Student Union.
