Revisiting The Oath and Gitmo, 10 Years After 9/11

In recognition of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, ITVS and PBS NewsHour will be hosting a live chat with The Oath filmmaker Laura Poitras and others.

The Oath, which is streaming free on ITVS Indies Showcase from September 11-13, follows the story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals.

Moderated by NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan, Monday’s live chat will feature a panel of experts including:

• Abdul-Ghani Aliryani
Political Analyst and Co-founder of the Democratic Awakening Movement
Abdul-Ghani Aliryani is a Yemeni political researcher and analyst, who played an advisory role to filmmaker Laura Poitras in the making of The Oath. He is based in Sana’a, Yemen.

• Lt. Cmdr. Brian L. Mizer
Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Virginia
Lt. Cmdr. Brian L. Mizer served as Salim Hamdan’s lawyer at Guantanamo and is featured throughout the documentary The Oath.

• Laura Poitras
Filmmaker, The Oath
Academy-Award nominated filmmaker Laura Poitras has directed several acclaimed documentaries including Flag Wars (2003) and My Country, My County (2006). Her film The Oath is part of a trilogy of films about America post 9/11 and earned top honors for cinematography at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

• Andrea Prasow
Senior Counterterrorism Counsel, Human Rights Watch
Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Andrea was a defense attorney with the Office of Military Commissions. She served as assistant counsel for Salim Hamdan alongside Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer.

Join us for the event on BTB on Monday, September 12 at 11AM PT / 2PM ET.

Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, bush, Guantanamo, hari sreenivasan, Iraq, Laura Poitras, osama bin laden, pbs newshour, The Oath, War on Terror, yemen

Revisiting Iraqi Politics on Global Voices

My Country, My Country airs on Global Voices this Sunday

Coming this Sunday to Global Voices on PBS WORLD is the 2007 Academy Award nominated film My Country, MY Country. The documentary tells the behind-the-scenes story of the January 2005 national elections in Iraq from the perspective of the people who planned, participated in and boycotted them.

Directed by Laura Poitras, the film offers a sobering look at Iraq two years after the U.S.-led invasion and is a testament to the courage of people willing to put their lives on the line for the promise of democracy.

Check out the trailer below and make sure to watch My Country, My Country this Sunday on Global Voices (check local listings).

Tags: 2005, bush, Iraq, iraqi elections, ITVS, PBS, politics, public television, War on Terror

Sneak Preview of FUTURESTATES episode Fallout

It’s almost here… ITVS’s new fictional online series — FUTURESTATES — launches online March 8 and will have its theatrical world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 14.

FUTURESTATES explores possible future scenarios through the prism of today’s global reality. America circa 2010 sits at the crux of competing and paradoxical forces of creation and destruction. Never before have we been capable of such great discovery and accomplishment, and yet our very existence hangs in balance as climate change, weapons of mass destruction, and economic collapse threaten our very existence.

Check out this sneak preview of Fallout, by Ben Rekhi. The War on Terror has escalated drastically, bringing America into conflict with countless enemies. Los Angeles has fallen victim to a nuclear attack from an unknown aggressor. In the aftermath of the bombing, a young man’s search for his girlfriend addresses the human toll of eternal war.

Join the FUTURESTATES Facebook Fan Page and watch other clips >>

Tags: Facebook, fiction, Los Angeles, online video, War on Terror