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GUEST: James Longley, director of award winning film, “Iraq in Fragments”

The highly anticipated court-martial of Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada for refusing to deploy to Iraq ended in a mistrial yesterday. Watada is the highest ranking officer to speak out against what he calls an illegal war in Iraq. The mistrial left military prosecutors clearly frustrated with defense attorneys claiming that the military had blown its only chance at a conviction. Meanwhile Iraq continues to burn as dozens died yesterday in several car bombings. The US military has begun an operation against Iraq’s largest militia, the Mehdi Army. I spoke recently with a film maker who spent two years in Iraq, shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and whose award winning documentary has garnered national and international attention. James Longley directed the spectacular and beautifully filmed, “Iraq in Fragments,” a documentary in three parts that was distilled from 300 hours of film. The first part is entitled “Mohammed in Baghdad,” about an 11 year old boy who works in an auto shop. Part two is called “Sadr’s South,” an up-close look at the political development of a militant Shia movement. And finally part three, “Kurdish Spring,” focuses on two Kurdish families in the northern part of Iraq who contemplate their role in US-occupied Iraq. Iraq in Fragments was recently nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards.

Today we play part 1 of our interview with James Longley.

For more information, visit www.iraqinfragments.com. The film will be screening at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica, for weekend matinees starting January 27-28, 2007.