My Country, My Country 

The director follows a Sunni Arab doctor as he prepares to run for the early 2005 elections in Iraq.

Director:

Laura Poitras

Stars:

Dr. Riyadh, Aaron Castle, Scott Farren-Price

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Dr. Riyadh	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aaron Castle	...	Himself
Scott Farren-Price	...	Himself
Renato Gonclaves	...	Himself
Andre Remmers	...	Himself
Edward Robertson	...	Himself
Kristopher Scarcliff	...	Himself
Peter Towndrow	...	Himself
Carlos Valenzuela	...	Himself
Edward Wong	...	Himself

Storyline

Six months in Iraq, culminating in the national election on January 30, 2005. We watch logistic preparations for the election, with UN, US, Australian, and local personnel unsure if the election will be held as scheduled, bracing for violence and for world attention. We also cut back and forth to Dr. Riyadh, a Sunni physician who practices at the Adhamiya Free Clinic and prays at the Abu Hanifa Mosque. He's an Iraqi Islamic Party candidate for the Baghdad Provincial Council; he visits Abu Ghraib prison and speaks out. We meet his wife and daughters: the family is cheerful, ironic, and droll. Will his party participate in the elections? Will he vote? Is his family safe?

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Plot Keywords:

election | sunni | iraq | iraqi islamic party | abu ghraib | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site PBS [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

Kurdish English Arabic

Release Date:

2 June 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Iraq

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,546, 6 August 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$33,620, 19 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Television Service (ITVS), Praxis Film Works, The American Documentary

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

After filming My Country, My Country, Poitras was placed on the United States Homeland Security watch list.

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Connections

Edited from My Country, My Country (2006)

User Reviews

Excellent Documentary

This film is a look at what a mess the Iraq situation is under American occupation. It was filmed from June 2004 thru February 2005. Among other things, it shows the emotional toll the occupation has caused on Iraqis and also on the American soldiers and one wonders what became of the people that appeared in the documentary and if the occupation was worth it. This film was one of the five nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Feature category during the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Another film nominated and dealing with this subject was "Iraq In Fragments" which I recommend, although I liked "My Country, My Country" better. The winner of the Oscar was "An Inconvenient Truth" --- The other two films nominated were "Deliver Us From Evil" and "Jesus Camp," both were excellent. All five of these documentaries deserve to be seen and they are worth your time. ADDITION (10/7/10): Another excellent documentary dealing with the subject of the Iraq war, is "Gunner Palace" (2004) which I also recommend.