| Ghosts of Abu Ghraib | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rory Kennedy |
| Written by | Jack Youngelson |
| Produced by |
|
| Cinematography | Tom Hurwitz |
| Edited by | Sari Gilman |
| Music by | Miriam Cutler |
| Distributed by | HBO |
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes (Sundance Film Festival) |
| Country | USA |
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is a 2007 documentary film, directed by Rory Kennedy, that examines the events of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. The film premiered January 19, 2007, at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. [1]
This documentary was the first to feature Iraqi victims (interviewed in Turkey) as well as guards who were directly involved in the torture in the prison. In the film, director Rory Kennedy examines how "ordinary soldiers" were capable of such acts. The film presents the torture as the result of military and government policies implemented in a climate of fear and chaos, inadequate training and inadequate resources.
Using these interviews, the film traces the events that led to the scandal, beginning with the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Using footage from the Milgram experiment in the 1960s at Yale, the film suggests that most people are capable of committing inhumane acts against other people when ordered to do so.
The film aired on HBO on February 22, 2007. [2] It was also shown at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on March 23, 2007, at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 25, 2007 and at the Oslo International Film Festival on November 17, 2007. [3]
Working Films coordinated the US national community engagement campaign with Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. [4] It brought together the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the American Civil Liberties Union, faith groups, and others to end US policy sanctioning torture. [5]
The film attracted some interest in media and was discussed extensively. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
The film was nominated for four Emmys at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Non-Fiction Special, Outstanding Directing for Non-Fiction Programming, Outstanding Picture Editing for Non-Fiction Programming, and Outstanding Sound Editing for Non-Fiction Programming. [14] It won the award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special. [15]
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy is an American documentary filmmaker. Kennedy has made documentary films that center on social issues such as addiction, her opposition to nuclear power, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence.
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Abu Ghraib is a city in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq, located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000 (2003). The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib. The government of Iraq created the city and Abu Ghraib District in 1944.
During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency committed a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These abuses included physical abuse, sexual humiliation, physical and psychological torture, and rape, as well as the killing of Manadel al-Jamadi and the desecration of his body. The abuses came to public attention with the publication of photographs by CBS News in April 2004, causing shock and outrage and receiving widespread condemnation within the United States and internationally.
Geoffrey D. Miller is a retired United States Army major general who commanded the US detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Iraq. Detention facilities in Iraq under his command included Abu Ghraib prison, Camp Cropper, and Camp Bucca. He is noted for having trained soldiers in using torture, or "enhanced interrogation techniques" in US euphemism, and for carrying out the "First Special Interrogation Plan," signed by the Secretary of Defense, against a Guantanamo detainee.
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Samuel Provance is a former U.S. Army military intelligence sergeant, known for disobeying an order from his commanders in the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion by discussing with the media his experiences at the Abu Ghraib Prison, where he was assigned from September 2003 to February 2004. After being disciplined for his actions, he eventually brought his case to the United States Government in February 2006, resulting in a congressional subpoena of the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The main points of his testimony are that military intelligence soldiers and contracted civilian interrogators had abused detainees, that they directed the military police to abuse detainees, the extent of this knowledge at the prison, and the subsequent cover-up of these practices when investigated.
Peter Lampert Bergen is an American journalist, author, and producer who is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America, a professor at Arizona State University, and the host of the Audible podcast In the Room with Peter Bergen.
Taxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney, and produced by Gibney, Eva Orner, and Susannah Shipman. It won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It focuses on the December 2002 killing of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar, who was beaten to death by American soldiers while being held in extrajudicial detention and interrogated at a black site at Bagram air base.
Sterling Kelby Brown is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award as well as a nomination for an Academy Award. He was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.
The 59th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2006, until May 31, 2007, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards were presented on September 8, 2007, in a ceremony hosted by Carlos Mencia at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast by E! on September 15, preceding the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16. A total of 80 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 66 categories.
Elizabeth Freya Garbus is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are The Farm: Angola, USA,Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,Bobby Fischer Against the World,Love, Marilyn,What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Becoming Cousteau. She is co-founder and co-director of the New York City-based documentary film production company Story Syndicate.
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