Voices of Iraq is a 2004 documentary film about Iraq. The producers distributed 150 digital video cameras across Iraq and received over 450 hours of footage from people of all walks of life such as teachers, doctors, policemen, children and insurgents. The film portrays the diverse perspectives of the Iraqi people ranging from their thoughts on the war and their prospects of democratic reform; their hopes and dreams for a new nation; and their understanding of how the world perceives their country at this time in history. [1] It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... A video camera can be classified two ways: Professional video cameras, such as those used in television production Camcorders used by amateurs This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Producer Eric Manes explained, "Without Iraqis as the directors, we would have seen Iraq and its people only through the filter of Western eyes. We certainly would not have had the access or the emotional intimacy that was captured in the film." [2] The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

Euphrates, an Iraqi Anglo hip-hop group, scored the soundtrack. [3] The film was released theatrically in the US and internationally and created a new genre of filmmaking. To preserve its innovative filmmaking, VOICES OF IRAQ was added to the permenant collection of Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. [4] The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, Kurdish: Fırat, Arabic: الفرات; Al-Furat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ/ܦܪܬ; Prâth/Frot, Turkish: Fırat, Assyrian Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu, Hebrew: פְּרָת) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Beth Nahrain in Syriac), the other being the...

Critics' Responses

The film gained critical acclaim.

• The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "'Voices of Iraq' is a must-see for anyone still coming to terms with the chaos in Iraq." [5]
• The Los Angeles Times, "By turns heartbreaking, amusing and disturbing, the film features people from different regions, economic classes and religions, recounting stories that are sometimes bleak, sometimes encouraging, but always compelling" [6]
• Variety, "In a season of political documentaries that take one side or the other on the war in Iraq, a film has emerged whose purpose is not to address American politics but the Iraqi people." [7]
• Hollywood Reporter, "Perhaps the sharpest commentary on years of suffering, hope and the wages of war are the children in front of and behind the cameras." [8]
• The Wall Street Journal, "At a time when shrill political diatribes dominate the documentary scene, along comes an authentic work that dares to let the subject speak for itself – literally." [9]
• Dallas Morning News, "An extraordinary, up-to-the-minute tapestry that ranges all over this country of 25 million people and carries the force of revelation." [10]
• The Washington Times: [11] "'Voices of Iraq' is neither partisan nor conservative in any meaningful sense of the word. However, as an attempt to get behind the filter of the main stream media – as a picture of reality unmediated by editorial commentary – it’s a more potent negation of Michael Moore, Craig Unger, Noam Chomsky and Co."
• The New York Times: "If this film cannot claim to represent the political "truth" about the war - what film could?" [12]

The San Francisco Chronicle, the self-described Voice of the West, is Northern Californias largest newspaper. ... The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the western United States. ... Variety (linguistics) is a concept that includes for instance dialects, standard language and jargon. ... The Federal Government of the United States was established by the United States politics is dominated by the two major parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. ... The Hollywood Reporter is the second major trade paper of the film industry in the United States, the first being Variety. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with a worldwide average daily circulation of more than 2. ... The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area. ... The Washington Times is a daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1982 as a conservative alternative to the Washington Post by members of the controversial Unification Church. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. ...

Making of the Film

Movie Maker Magazine asked the producers, "Voices of Iraq is truly a groundbreaking film—both in terms of its content and the process behind its production. What was your main mission in creating this film?" Eric Manes responded, "Our goal was simply to give the Iraqi people a voice. For years we had heard only the American media’s version of what Iraq and its people were like. We decided that since Iraq was such a major issue in the U.S., it was time to hear their story first-hand. Iraqis are a wonderfully diverse group of people who have been silenced for over 24 years, living in fear of Saddam Hussein and his regime. We realized we could finally give Iraqis a venue to freely share their lives, hopes and dreams with the rest of the world now that he was no longer in complete control of the country." When questioned on the film's budget, Martin Kunert said, "We used single chip, GR-D30U JVC cameras, which you can buy used on the net for around $230." "Our budget came out to around $500,000. With inexpensive cameras and editing stations, the greatest expense was our post-production staff: translators and assistant editors. Second to that, the 35 mm blow-up." [13] JVC, or Japan Victor Company (日本ビクター株式会社) (TYO: 6792) is a Japanese consumer electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927. ... Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks - The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ...

Conspiracy Theories

Some accused Voices of Iraq of being conservative propaganda intended to influence the 2004 presidential election in the United States. These accusations arose when the film was released theatrically prior to the US election, and that within the movie Iraqis highlighted positive changes in Iraq. The accusations were further fueled when the film's PR was handled by a "a P.R. firm employed by the Army. MS&L's motto: "At MS&L, we have a new and higher purpose. We don't just change perceptions, because perceptions can be fleeting. What we do - in every sense of the words - is this: Change Minds." Producer Martin Kunert responded to the connection between MS&L and the US army, "Saying that because MS&L promotes the Army commercial campaigns reveals a bias in our film is akin to claiming Mickey Mouse films are liberal propaganda because Disney financed Michael Moore. " [14] Conservative Party may refer to: Conservative Party of Canada (since 2003) Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942-2003) Conservative Party of Canada (historical) (until 1942) Conservative Party (Chile) (historical) Colombian Conservative Party Conservative Peoples Party (Denmark) New Zealand Conservative Party (defunct) Conservative Party of Nicaragua Norwegian Conservative Party (H... The 2004 Presidential election may refer to: The Afghan presidential election The Algerian presidential election The Austrian presidential election The Dominican presidential election The Georgia presidential election The Icelandic presidential election The Irish presidential election The Macedonian presidential election The Panamanian presidential election The Philippine presidential election The Republic of... US Army Seal The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become a symbol for The Walt Disney Company. ... American liberalism (also called in the United States modern liberalism) is a political current in the United States that claims descent from classical liberalism in terms of devotion to certain aspects of individual liberty, but rejects absolute free-market economics in favor of institutions that promote social and economic equity. ... Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... Michael Moore. ...

Distribution

In the fall of 2004, Voices of Iraq was distributed theatrically in thirteen cities in the United States. [15]

In 2005, Voices of Iraq screened as part of the Directors Guild of America "Filmmaking and War" series [16] and screened in international films festivals at Locarno, Edinburgh, Melbourne, South Korea and the Philippines. After which, it entered in theatrically distribution internationally. [17] Directors Guild of America (DGA) is the labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry. ... Location within Switzerland Locarno is a city located on Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore) in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona. ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ...

Reportedly, the film spread across Iraq as a popular bootleg. [18]

Film Credits

Made by Booya Studios. Filmed and Directed by the People of Iraq. Produced by Eric Manes [19], Martin Kunert [20], Archie Drury [21]. Edited by Robin Russell [22], Martin Kunert [23], Stephan Mark [24] Distributed theatrically in the US by Magnolia Pictures, and [25] overseas by Becker Film International. [26]

The Voices of Iraq soundtrack was produced and performed by Euphrates, an Iraqi Anglo hip hop group. [27]

External links

• Voices of Iraq Homepage
• Euphrates
• Booya Studios