Occupation: Dreamland

“The film unflinchingly captures the daily realities of troops in Iraq and offers real insights into the nature of a volunteer army. It is also an important historical document for understanding the buildup to the invasion of Falluja, which for many Iraqis was a turning point and is not often enough cited in explaining how Iraqis have witnessed the war.” – David Enders, GNN blogger, Mother Jones correspondent, author Baghdad Bulletin: The Real Story of the War in Iraq: Reporting from Beyond the Green Zone

“Occupation: Dreamland is a gritty and important film that gives America an important taste of what is going on in Iraq from the inside. The men of the 82nd Airborne have been at the tip of the spear since the start of our combat operations after 9/11. Understanding their experiences and the difficulties they encounter help us all to better understand the war. And why we aren’t winning it.” – Paul Rieckhoff, Founder, Operation Truth

Occupation: Dreamland is an unflinchingly candid portrait of a squad of American soldiers deployed in the doomed Iraq city of Falluja during the winter of 2004. A collective study of the soldiers unfolds as they patrol an environment of low-intensity conflict creeping steadily towards catastrophe. Through the squads activities Occupation: Dreamland provides a vital glimpse into the last days of Falluja. The film documents the city’s waning stability before a final series of military assaults began in the spring of 2004 that effectively destroyed it.

Filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds were given access to all operations of the Army’s 82nd Airborne. They lived with the unit 24/7, giving voice to soldiers held under a strict code of authority as they cope with an ambiguous, often lethal environment. The result is a revealing, sometimes surprising look at Army life, operations and the complexity of American war in the 21st century.

Occupation: Dreamland recently won the Working Films “content + intent = change” award at the 2005 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, in recognition of the film’s potential to engage audiences to meaningful action that results in concrete impact and social change.

GNN is proud to present two clips from the film, including an exclusive look at the controversial “recruiting” scene that has so many people talking. Also streaming on GNN is the film’s powerful trailer.

The film opens Friday, September 30th:

Boston:

The Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard Street in Brookline, Massachusetts
Box Office call 617-734-2501.
Recorded information call 617-734-2500.

Berkeley:

Oaks Theater
(510) 526-1836
1875 Solano Avenue
Directors to do Q & A at evening screenings on Friday and Saturday.

Washington DC:

THE WAREHOUSE SCREENING ROOM
1021 7th street
Fri & Sat 5,7 & 9
Sunday Matinees at 2 & 4
Mon- Thur 5 & 7

Plus preview at:
AVALON THEATRE
5612 Connecticut Ave NW
WEDENSDAY
SEPT 28 7:30
Iraq Vet Garet Repennhagen to do Q & A.

Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and Austin on Oct 14th.

For more dates visit occupationdreamland.com.

Credits

Director / Producer

Garrett Scott is a writer and filmmaker who was featured prominently by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “20 new faces in film to watch” in 2002. His directorial debut, Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story, premiered at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. Cul de Sac also screened at numerous other festivals before being acquired for broadcast by the Sundance Channel in 2004, and ARTE-France in 2005. In addition to Occupation: Dreamland, Garrett is working on a documentary about city politics in San Francisco in the 1970’s.

Director / Editor

Ian Olds is the editor and co-writer of Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story, which premiered at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired for broadcast by The Sundance Channel in 2004 and ARTE-France in 2005. He is also the director of the short narrative film, Two Men, which will premier at the 2005 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival as one of only five American films chosen for International Competition. Ian was awarded the departmental research fellowship in cinematography and will receive his MFA from Columbia Universityâs film division in 2005.

Producer

Selina Lewis Davidson is Co-Executive Director of GreenHouse Pictures, formerly known as Mixed Greens Documentaries, a New York-based film production company. Selina was Director of Documentary Programming at Mixed Greens for four years, where she produced films including Macky Alstonâs Questioning Faith, George Ratliffâs critically-acclaimed Hell House, Hannah Weyerâs La Escuela, Bryan Gunnar Coleâs Boomtown, and Sarah Priceâs Caesarâs Park. Prior to joining Mixed Greens, Selina produced documentary film and television in L.A. and New York for more than ten years. Her credits as a producer include the feature documentary Family Name, which premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and won the 1998 Freedom of Expression Award. The film was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Historical Programming after it aired nationally in 1998 on PBSâs documentary series, POV/American Documentary as part of the Television Race Initiative. Selina also produced several projects with the production company World of Wonder, including LA Stories: From the Eye of the Storm, a feature-length documentary commissioned by the BBC that aired in 1994, following the Los Angeles riots. For more information visit greenhousepictures.com

Producer

Nancy Roth is Co-Executive Director of GreenHouse Pictures, formerly known as Mixed Greens Documentaries, a New York-based film production company. She joined Mixed Greens Documentaries in 2000 and co-produced Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz, which had its broadcast premiere on the Independent Lens Series on PBS in October 2003. She was the Supervising Producer on three documentaries, Slumming It: Myth & Culture on the Bowery, 156 Rivington, which premiered on the Sundance Channel in October 2003, and The Federation of Black Cowboys. Prior to joining Mixed Greens, Nancy Co-Produced Greener Grass: Cuba, Baseball and the United States, which was produced in association with ITVS and Thirteen/WNET, had a national broadcast in 2000 and received the Banff Rockie Award in 2001. For more information visit greenhousepictures.com.

Posted by anthony
Anthony Lappé is GNN's Executive Editor. He's written for The New York Times, Details, New York, Paper, The Fader and Vice, among many others. He has worked as a producer for MTV and Fuse. He is the co-author of GNN's True Lies and the producer of their Iraq doc, BattleGround.

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