The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Film Title (Original): The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib Hernández
Film Title (English): The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib Hernández
Film Title (Spanish): Los Fantasmas de Abu Ghraib Hernández
Country of Origin: United States
Year of Completition: 2006
Running Time: 78 minutes
Format/Color/BW: Digibeta, Color
Language: English
Spanish Dub
 Director: Rory Kennedy | Biography | Watch Trailer
Film Synopsis - Short:
The familiar and disturbing pictures of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison raise many troubling questions: How did torture become an accepted practice at Abu Ghraib? Did U.S. government policies make it possible? How much damage has the aftermath of Abu Ghraib had on America's credibility as a defender of freedom and human rights around the world? Acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy looks beyond the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context in which torture occurred.
Film Synopsis - Long:
"There is no such thing as a little bit of torture." -- Alfred W. McCoy, author "A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror"
The familiar and disturbing pictures of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison raise many troubling questions: How did torture become an accepted practice at Abu Ghraib? Did U.S. government policies make it possible? How much damage has the aftermath of Abu Ghraib had on America's credibility as a defender of freedom and human rights around the world?
In the powerful Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy looks beyond the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context in which torture occurred. "How could ordinary American soldiers come to engage in such monstrous acts?" Kennedy asks. "What policies were put into place that allowed this behavior to flourish while protections granted to prisoners under the Geneva Conventions were ignored?"
For the first time, GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB features both the voices of Iraqi victims (interviewed in Turkey after arduous attempts to meet with them) and guards directly involved in torture at the prison. Conducted by Kennedy, these remarkably candid, in-depth interviews shed light on the abuses in an unprecedented manner. Through these interviews, the film traces the events and the political and legal precedents that led to the scandal, beginning with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Film Credits
Director: Rory Kennedy
Producers: Jack Youngelson, Liz Garbus, Rory Kennedy
Executive Producer: Diana Barrett (Fledgling Fund), Sheila Nevins (Hbo)
Senior Producer: Nancy Abraham (Hbo)
Writer: Jack Youngelson
Cinematographer: : Tom Hurwitz
Editor: Sari Gilman
Music:: Miriam Culter
Film History/Prizes:
2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Hot Docs Film Festival
2007 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
2007 Chicago International Film Festival |
