FRONTLINE tells the stories of soldiers who have come home haunted by their experiences during the Iraq War and asks whether the government is doing enough to help.
Social & External
The people behind it
A documentary chronicling the demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq.
9/11 marked a new era in global terrorism, and a "War on Terror" was launched by the US. Since then, trillions have been spent on conventional warfare, counter-terrorism, secret intelligence, homeland security, cyberdefence and more, in pursuit of a sometimes indefinable enemy. We look at the costs and impact of this effort. Is there less terrorism today than before the war started? Is our world any safer?
Saddam Hussein's arsenal of "weapons of mass destruction" was George W. Bush's main justification for waging war against Iraq in 2003. After the invasion of the country, American leaders recognised that they had been mistaken, and that the Baghdad tyrant did not possess such a capability. Bush claimed it was an error and defended his good faith, denouncing the negligence of his secret services. But the brutal truth lies elsewhere: The war in Iraq was based on lies.
Four hard-hitting stores, from the deadliest period in U.S. Army Aviation, since Vietnam. Actual footage from the events, and interviews from the Soldiers, who were there - bring these intense and touching stories of courage and sacrifice to life.
The year is 2112. The Inner Worlds Trial Council has just convicted "Omar Tartan" (Glenn Palmer) of numerous crimes against society. Unfortunately, he escapes to the continental US circa 1875. "Wild Bill" (William Shatner) and his crew are sent to recover him.
Director Mounaf Shaker lives in the Dora District of Baghdad, which was once a lively area full of palm groves and people of all kinds. Now, US tanks rumble through the streets, sectarian militias exchange gunfire and people find death threats posted on their doors when they awaken in the morning. Shaker details what it’s like to live under these conditions as he struggles to carry on with the tasks of everyday life.
Founded in 1917, the Shabandar Café in Al Mutanabbi Street in the heart of the old centre of Baghdad was a cultural landmark where generations of Iraqis came to discuss and debate literature and politics. The cafe was a living repository of Iraqi intellectual history and one of the last places where people could gather to exchange ideas. Director Emad Ali had nearly completed filming for his project by the end of 2006. Then, in March 2007, a massive car bomb destroyed the Shabandar Café and all the bookshops on Al Mutanabbi Street, killing and wounded scores of people. Days later, Baghdad's poets and artists held a wake in the ruins of the street they loved so much. Emad took a small camera and returned to continue filming. He was attacked as he was leaving, his camera was stolen and he was shot in the legs and chest. Emad Ali’s own story provides a disturbing epilogue to his film about the Shabandar Café and Mutanabbi Street, both before and after they were destroyed.
Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.
Omar, a student at Baghdad University, works extra hours as a taxi driver to support his wife and four daughters. While negotiating his dilapidated taxi around checkpoints, traffic jams and US tanks, he talks about his personal aspirations, his difficulty finding work in his field of study, the lack of gasoline and electricity in Iraq, and what it’s like to raise four daughters in a male-dominated society.
"The trauma of 9/11, the ideology of violent retribution, military service as a patriotic family tradition, the “unfairness” of today’s warfare – in their voice-overs, five young Afghanistan war veterans first establish familiar foundations. Joe, Torrie, Mike, James and Justin from Pittsburgh are slow to show us their faces. Physically unharmed but full of inner pain they have become the misunderstood upon their return. Their violent experiences speak a language that the people at home don’t understand.
After 23 years in exile, Tariq Hashim returned to his homeland, Baghdad, where he encountered political turmoil, perpetual fear and violence. Shot in only 16 hours, Hashim’s film 16 Hours in Baghdad reveals the multi layered social landscape of Baghdad today. The film won the Golden Hawk Award at the 4th Arab Film Festival in Rotterdam, 2004.
Seventy-five days before the U.S. Army captured Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi-Canadian filmmaker tries to re-enter his homeland after 27 years of forced exile. In Jordan, he meets other Iraqis who are no longer able to cross the border: workers without jobs, truckers, cab drivers and anxious refugees. Worn down by years of war, sanctions, arbitrary arrests, torture and fear of execution, the men angrily recall the darkest years of the fallen regime. Still stunned by the course of events and uncertain about the future, they have no faith in the Americans, whom they believe are out for their oil. "Are we another Palestine?" asks one of them. Shot in the thick of the action amid the ongoing chaos, the film reveals Iraqi opinions and their versions of the unfolding story.
A sparkling young Baghdadi woman, Kawkab, leads us around her city with a mischievous glint. Defying the stereotype of the Muslim woman, she is not afraid to speak her mind about anything, from sex, love, and virginity to her pro-Saddam patriotism. The film paints a unique picture of the current situation in Iraq from her perspective - totally different from the U.S. media's coverage as it measures the cost of war by body counts and dollars spent. Kawkab reveals an intimate and human side of Baghdad, speaking with compelling optimism of her hopes and joys.
Director Hiba Bassem returns to Baghdad from Kirkuk in 2005 to finish her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts. This video diary chronicles her first year in Baghdad as she searches for a place to live, looks for work, attends college, deals with family problems and struggles to come to terms with her position as a woman living on her own. Baghdad Days won a New Horizon Silver Award at the Al Jazeera International Film Festival and a Golden Award at the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival in 2006.
Thousands of Iraqis have been displaced by sectarian violence and have had to flee their homes, seeking refuge in safer parts of the country. Al Hani’s short film is a portrait of Abu Ali, a refugee from Kirkuk currently living in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kerbala. A peace-loving man with a keen sense of justice, Ali struggles to survive and provide for his family under the difficult circumstances they now find themselves.
On the eve of the 2003 U.S. invasion, filmmaker Shelley Saywell traveled to Iraq to film the lives of ordinary people - especially young Iraqis - who were caught between Saddam's tyranny and a devastated economy (for which they blamed the West). Now, Saywell returns to find the people she met and interviewed before the war. What happened to them? Have they survived? Have their feelings about Saddam and the U.S. changed, or remained the same?
Dr. Nabil is a gentle and committed surgeon and father who works at a small, understaffed Baghdad hospital suffering from a lack of equipment and medicine. Though other doctors have been killed or have fled the country in fear of their lives, Dr. Nabil has decided to stay. He worries, though, what effects the atmosphere of violence and brutality will have on his young son.
In the winter of 2002-'03, as the US was building its case to attack Iraq, people around the world responded with a series fo the largest peace protests in history. Shutdown: The Rise and Fall of Direct Action to Stop the War, is an action-packed documentary chronicling how DASW successfully organized to shut down a major US city and how they failed to effectively maintain the organization to fight the war machine and end the occupation of Iraq. Created by organizers involved with DASW, Shutdown combines detailed information on organizing for a mass action, critical interviews on organizing pitfalls, and the wisdom of hindsight. It is a must-see film for those engaged in the continuous struggle toward social justice.
Iraq War veteran Herold Noel suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and lives out of his car in Brooklyn. Using Noel's story as a fulcrum, this doc examines the wider issue of homeless U.S. military veterans-from Vietnam to Iraq-who have to fight tooth-and-nail to receive the benefits promised to them by their government.
An Iraqi journalist joins an army of uneasy allies and unforgettable characters in the epic battle to liberate the city of Mosul from the Islamic State.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
RETURN tells the story of a retired Green Beret who embarks on a healing journey from Montana to Vietnam. There he retraces his steps, shares his wartime experiences with his son, treats his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and seeks out the mountain tribespeople he once lived with and fought alongside as a Special Forces officer.
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.