Mosul | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Dan Gabriel |
Written by | Daniel Gabriel Mike Tucker |
Produced by | Matt Schrader |
Cinematography |
|
Edited by | Christopher Campbell |
Music by | Photek |
Production company | Two Rivers Pictures |
Distributed by | Gravitas Ventures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English Arabic |
Mosul is a 2019 American war documentary film about the battle to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from 2016 to 2017. [1]
The film is the directorial debut from Dan Gabriel, who worked in the region as a CIA counter-terrorism officer, and also produced the film. [2] The film focuses on the intersecting narratives of the various Iraqi ethnic groups that were involved in the operation: Sunni tribesman, Shiite militias, Christian fighters, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The eyewitness footage was captured over nine months by a camera crew embedded with various units of the Iraqi forces. [3] The film follows Iraqi journalist Ali Maula who is embedded with the militia, along with war widow Um Hanadi, and ISIS recruiter Nasser Issa. [4] Others that appear in footage of Maula's interviews include Captain Alaa Atah of the Iraqi Emergency Response Brigade and Sheikh "The Crocodile" Saleh. [5]
Mosul premiered at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival. The official release date for digital distribution is May 14, 2019, [3] [6] by Gravitas Ventures. [2] The film's original score was composed by Grammy-nominated British record producer Photek. The documentary is 86 minutes long. [7] The original score was written by Photek. [2]
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on reviews from six critics. [3]
Film Inquiry wrote, "Gritty, powerful and honest, the film begs to be experienced, discussed, and remembered." [5] Michael Rechtshaffen of the Los Angeles Times said "while not exactly uncharted documentary territory, the Iraq conflict is thought-provokingly portrayed in 'Mosul'." [8] Laura DeMarco called the film "a gripping narrative of life during 'total warfare'." [9]
Control Room is a 2004 documentary film directed by Jehane Noujaim, about Al Jazeera and its relations with the US Central Command (CENTCOM), as well as the other news organizations that covered the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Earthlings is a 2005 American documentary film about humanity's use of other animals as pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and for scientific research. The film is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, features music by Moby, and was directed by Shaun Monson, executive produced by Libra Max and co-produced by Maggie Q. A sequel titled Unity was released in 2015.
Body of War is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. Bill Moyers Journal featured a one-hour special about Body of War including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue.
Restrepo is a 2010 American documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British photojournalist Tim Hetherington.
Matthew VanDyke is an American documentary filmmaker, revolutionary, and former journalist. He gained fame during the Libyan Civil War as a foreign fighter on the side of the uprising and as a prisoner of war.
Hit So Hard is a 2011 American documentary film directed by P. David Ebersole. The film details the life and near death story of Patty Schemel, drummer of the seminal '90s alternative rock band Hole, and charts her early life, music career, and spiral into crack cocaine addiction. The film weaves together Hi8 video footage Schemel recorded while on Hole's 1994-95 world tour with contemporary interviews with her, bandmates Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, and Melissa Auf der Maur, as well as her family members. The film also features interviews with other female drummers and musicians, including Nina Gordon, Kate Schellenbach, Gina Schock, Debbi Peterson, and Phranc.
Bill W. is a 2012 American biographical film directed by Dan Carracino and Kevin Hanlon, about William Griffith Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the first feature length documentary on Wilson.
Vito is a 2011 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The film documents the life of Vito Russo, gay activist, film scholar, and author of The Celluloid Closet.
Tom Donahue is an American film director and producer. His latest documentaries include This Changes Everything, which he directed and produced, about systemic gender bias and discrimination against women in Hollywood and entertainment, and HBO's Bleed Out, which he produced with Ilan Arboleda under the banner of their independent production studio, CreativeChaos vmg. The Los Angeles Press Club awarded Bleed Out with the film Best Documentary and runner-up for Best Medical/Health Reporting at its annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and SoCal Journalism Awards in July 2019. Both films premiered in the fall of 2018. Donahue has also received much critical acclaim for directing HBO's Casting By, which was nominated for an Emmy, and Thank You for Your Service, which was released theatrically by Gathr Films in 2016. In 2010, Donahue founded the production company CreativeChaos vmg with Ilan Arboleda and Steve Edwards.
A Faster Horse is a 2015 American documentary film directed by David Gelb about the Ford Mustang. It debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Magical Universe is a 2013 documentary film directed by filmmaker Jeremy Workman about reclusive outsider artist Al Carbee who created elaborate dioramas and collages featuring Barbie dolls. The title of the film is taken from Carbee's own voluminous writings about his wondrous art.
Score: A Film Music Documentary is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Matt Schrader about film scores, featuring Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Quincy Jones, Rachel Portman, Trent Reznor, and others. The film was released theatrically by Gravitas Ventures on June 16, 2017, and on Blu-ray and download September 5, 2017.
Magnus is a 2016 documentary film by Benjamin Ree about the early life of Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen, him becoming a Grandmaster at age 13 and winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2013. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016, and was sold to 64 countries.
Ramsey Denison is a director, producer, editor and documentary filmmaker who is best known for his critically acclaimed documentary What Happened in Vegas, which went to #1 on iTunes documentary charts in June 2018.
Dan Gabriel is a documentary filmmaker and former Central Intelligence Agency officer. He is known for his work as director and executive producer of the 2019 film Mosul, and the 2015 television series Exiting Hell.
Hesburgh is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. The film follows the life of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 through 1987, particularly during his time working on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The film is drawn from archival footage, as well as interviews with family, colleagues at Notre Dame, politicians, journalists, and historians. Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Hesburgh, narrating the documentary with words drawn from Hesburgh's writings and tapes.
Wahida Mohamed al-Jumaily, better known as Um Hanadi, is an Iraqi fighter and commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) who fought against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the Al-Shirqat District. She is the only female commander in the PMF and leads her own unit in the district. She lost two husbands to ISIL and is known for her brutality against ISIL fighters. She was feature in the documentary Mosul directed by Dan Gabriel.
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen. It examines the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, the second installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, and the life of the film's lead actor, Mark Patton. In particular, Freddy's Revenge has garnered a reputation for its homoerotic themes and subject material, which affected Patton, who was closeted at the time of the film's production.
MLK/FBI is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Sam Pollard, from a screenplay by Benjamin Hedin and Laura Tomaselli. It follows Martin Luther King Jr. as he is investigated and harassed by J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Halston is a 2019 American biographical documentary film written and directed by Frédéric Tcheng. The film tells the story of the life and death of the American fashion designer, Roy Halston Frowick. The film features commentary by Liza Minnelli, Marisa Berenson, Joel Schumacher, Naeem Khan, Pat Cleveland, Karen Bjornson and other former models known as The Halstonettes. Appearing in archival footage are Halston, Jacqueline Kennedy, Brooke Shields, Andy Warhol and members of his family. The film premiered to generally positive reviews at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. It was selected as the spotlight documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and had a limited theatrical release in May 2019, before its international release in June.