, DivX/Xvid DVD player 
and video iPod/iPhone 
Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories
| Trailer | Poster | ||
|
Audience Rating: 
(2) login to rate this |
Directed by Mike Shiley Written by Mike Shiley Produced by Mike Shiley Sharon Okonek Page Ostrow Rick Ray Genre Subtitles: English Runtime: 95 min Release Date: November 2007 Advisory: Violent subject matter Filmmaker's Website Send to Friends |
||
Download to own “Inside Iraq” for $6.99 |
|||
Plot Outline
The war in Iraq has been showcased as both an example of American decisiveness and the catastrophic result of failed leadership. But beyond the debate, what is the reality of life on the ground? In December of 2003 traveler Mike Shiley felt compelled to find out for himself. Shiley, who is not a professionally trained journalist or filmmaker, managed to strike a deal with a local ABC-TV station to bring back stories about the troops in Iraq. Armed with a digital video camera and a home-made press pass, Mike Shiley chronicled a two month journey inside Iraq, interviewing American and Iraqi soldiers, talking to local citizens, and putting himself in situations of great personal risk. The footage from Shiley's excursions throughout the Sunni Triangle, the city of Baghdad, the northern Kurdish region and the Shiite-controlled south, put into deep personal context the stories we hear about in the news. Rather than push a political point of view, INSIDE IRAQ: THE UNTOLD STORIES lets Shiley's camera roll, catching a multitude of real-life moments that tell it like it is.
Guided by his own narration and interspersed with cuts to the studio interview, we are shown Iraq as we've never seen it before, getting a raw look at what it's like to be a soldier and a civilian in Iraq today. No matter how you feel about the war, INSIDE IRAQ: THE UNTOLD STORIES is bound to leave you examining your own beliefs about the U.S. military, the Iraqi people, and our future in the Middle East.
Awards
Best Feature Documentary, 2006 San Luis Obispo Film Festival
Bombay India Film FestivaL
Eugene Film Festival
Filmmaker Notes
Director's Note:
After seeing images of the Iraq war on the nightly news, I knew there was much more to the story than the mainstream media was telling us. I decided to go to Iraq myself to meet the people and document what was going on first-hand. The media only shows bombs and press conferences, the world deserves more.
Director's Bio:
Award-winning filmmaker, lecturer and journalist Mike Shiley, has been to the most dangerous places in the world. He lived in and traveled through the Middle East, covered wars in Iraq and Kosovo, reported on the tsunami in SE Asia and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
An avid world adventure traveler, Mike has visited 38 countries. He has trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, completed a 3,000-mile solo bicycle trip from Canada to Mexico, climbed 14 mountains in the Pacific Northwest, and is a ski instructor for the handicapped. An accomplished scuba diver and a certified Divemaster, he has guided over 250 dives in the Red Sea in Egypt.
Mike has produced six feature length documentary films. His last two films have been official selections in over 30 film festivals and have won Best Documentary awards five times. The Smithsonian Institution selected Shiley’s new film, Dark Water Rising, to be a part of its permanent collection on Hurricane Katrina.
Mike has spoken and shown his films over 400 times in 35 states and seven countries. Mike is 39 and lives in Portland, Oregon.
Music
Thomas Schroyer
Cinematographers
Mike Shiley
Film Editors
Lindsey Goodwin-Grayzel
Wolfie Pfrommer
Rick Ray
Screenings
Queens Film Festival
Wine Country Film Festival
Tiburon Film Festival
Mendocino Film Festival
Sliver Lake Film Festival
Ashland Film Festival
Artivist Film Festival
Deep Ellum Film Festival
Santa Fe Film Festival
Crested Butte Film Festival
Globians Festival, Potsdam, Germany