Independent Intervention is an award-winning documentary about corporate-controlled media coverage of the Iraq War. Focusing on the human costs of war, the film contrasts mainstream media’s coverage of the invasion of Iraq with independent media reports of the brutal realities on the ground.
Norwegian filmmaker, Tonja Hessen Schei, questions the U.S. media coverage of the war in Iraq. Important issues that govern today’s information flow are investigated in the film. As the major U.S. networks remove human suffering from their presentation of war, Operation Iraqi Freedom is portrayed as a success for the spread of democracy and freedom. But is it?
Independent Intervention brings awareness to the disparity between the war the American people saw through the corporate controlled media and the realities on the ground in Iraq. The documentary features interviews with Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky, Dahr Jamail, Danny Schechter, Norman Solomon, David Barsamian, Kalle Lasn, James Zogby and Jim Hightower. It also includes the voices of Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, Arundhati Roy, Jeremy Scahill, US.. Senators and Iraqi people.
Details
LENGTH: 1 x 52 Minutes
FORMAT: Special
INTERNATIONAL TRACK: Yes
TEXTLESS: Yes
CLOSED CAPTIONS: No
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
PRODUCTION YEAR: 2007
RELEASE YEAR: 2009
SUPPLIER: Ground Productions
RIGHTS TERRITORY: Worldwide
Filmmaker’s Statement
“Images are powerful. During Vietnam, pictures of human suffering helped end the war. Today these images from Iraq are absent in the US mass media, and the American people watch a very different war than the rest of the world. Operation Iraqi Freedom is portrayed as a success for the spread of democracy and freedom, while many truths of this war remain silenced. This censorship endangers free speech and democracy. It is vital in today’s world that we have access to information so we can participate in society as responsible and informed citizens.
“Independent Intervention investigates important issues during tense times, where our access to information and free speech are diminishing. The film investigates how independent media can be an important force in this information war. Independent journalists challenge the corporate media’s presentation of war, with reports from the brutal realities in Iraq. We need to see the full spectrum of images from Iraq. As Amy Goodman says in the film, “If people saw for one week on television what war really looks like, people would say that war is not an answer to conflict in the 21st century.
“Our documentary, Independent Intervention, works to break the silence of the corporate media. This film brings the war home.” -Tonja Hessen Schei
Awards
Roy W. Dean Finishing Award, Bronze Audience Award
Amnesty International Canada Traveling Film Festival
Reviews
“Independent Intervention is the single most staggering doc yet made about the unholy matrimony of the military-industrial complex and the media.” -The San Francisco Guardian
“A damning critique of the mainstream news media’s gung-ho coverage of the Iraq invasion.” -Joseph Gelmis, Film Critic Emeritus/Newsday
“It shows the absolutely critical importance of the independent media, which, in a culture dominated by corporate wealth, gives us hope for democracy.” -Howard Zinn
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