Documentary reflects on disillusionment of battle

A new documentary that intimately chronicles army life premieres in Chapel Hill today.

"Occupation: Dreamland" unveils year-old footage of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Fallujah, only a few months before the city erupted into full-scale violence.

Directed by Garrett Scott and Ian Olds, the award-winning film exposes the disillusionment of both American soldiers and Iraqi civilians as the region's tense situation tilts toward catastrophe.

Throughout the movie, the soldiers are extremely candid, sharing their emotions and political opinions.

They do not all agree about the effectiveness or necessity of the war, and most believe they must do their job regardless of their personal feelings.

Scott recognized the challenge of presenting this material with objectivity, which he says is "a discipline, not a science."

"These events would have been happening regardless of whether we were present," he said. "I didn't want to make an advocacy film for the Army or a protest piece."

Many of the men in the film joined the Army because they felt they had no other options after high school, and the film reveals some of the aggressive ways in which they are convinced to stay.

In addition to its sympathetic portrait of the U.S. Army, the documentary captures the humiliation and despair of the Iraqis whose homes are searched and family members taken in the middle of the night.

Marketing the film has been difficult for several reasons. The similarly-themed "Gunner Palace" was the first film of its kind and was released four months before "Occupation: Dreamland."

Because it did poorly at the box office, distributors were hesitant about Scott and Olds' piece.

"Our film is also competing with television," Scott said. "Everyone sees Iraq all the time. It's a hard sell."

Nevertheless, it has appeared at several film festivals, including Durham's Full Frame Documentary Film Festival last spring. It is now being distributed by the Brooklyn-based Rumur Releasing, which is run by Chapel Hill natives Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley.

The directors will be on campus for a conference on media and film Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in 116 Murphey Hall.

They will be panelists, along with professors of communications, political science and journalism. The afternoon is scheduled to be spent discussing the ways in which the media affect society's understanding of the war in Iraq.

Scott and Olds also will be present for a question-and-answer at the Chelsea Theater's 7 p.m. screening Saturday.

"I just hope this film informs people and that they talk and think about it," said Scott.

 

Contact the A&E editor at artsdesk@unc.edu