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May/June 2006 Review Caught in the Crossfire: The Untold Story of Fal Produced by ConceptionMedia Reviewed by Danny Schechter You watch this film and you ask yourselves: where were the American media when an Iraqi city was being destroyed? Why weren’t they able – with all the technology and satellites at their command, with all their embedded reporters and high-tech bureaus – to bring us the voices of Iraqis and the experience of civilians caught in the crossfire of the war in Iraq? The short answer seems to be: they didn’t want to or were not allowed to. Caught in the Crossfire: The Untold Story of Falluja is heroic filmmaking under fire, a short film – just 18 minutes – shot in part by Iraqis whose names we cannot know because of the possibility, make that the likelihood, of retaliation. Here are some angry voices and powerful images that explain – in a way that night newscasts have not – why Iraqis are resisting American occupation in what we label an “insurgency.” You see the agony of civilians cradling their children as they seek shelter or men forced to wait for hours and days to pass by checkpoints that treat them all as suspected terrorists and enemies. The man who made it, Mark Manning, was not a war reporter or activist. Here’s how the ConceptionMedia Web site describes him: “Mark Manning was a deep sea commercial diver for 22 years within the offshore oil business. During his diving career, Manning specialized in underwater filming. In March of 2002 he retired from the marine industry and founded ConceptionMedia, a film production company dedicated to social interest documentaries. His purpose now lies in filming stories about the aspects of life that fundamentally affect us all – but have limited or no means of exposure in our media today.” There is more to the story of Falluja, the city of mosques known for its independence and defiance of Saddam Hussein in the years before the war. There is the story of the citizen councils it formed to govern the city after the war and to protect its cultural treasures from looters. Many welcomed U.S. soldiers who came to their homes, turning down hospitality by choosing to drink their own Coca-Colas rather than the coffee offered them, and who brought no translators. Here is the story of the “cowboys” from private security companies turned mercenaries for the U.S. military, who turned the town into a shooting gallery, with the result that some were later grotesquely lynched in retaliation. It was that incident that led to the decision by the U.S. Marines to take the town and collectively punish its residents with cluster bombs and search-and-destroy missions. That in turn led to a proud people fighting back, which invited more bombardment from the air and land. Despite all the military power shown by the Marines, who boasted of their high body counts (I met one who bragged to me about how many “terrorists” they killed), Falluja’s spirit and resistance was never conquered. This film is not about the war but the people. I would have liked more context, as a journalist who has done his own film (Weapons of Mass Deception), and would have preferred if it offered more analysis. Yet this joint production of American and Iraqi filmmakers did something more in your face and moving – it showed us the war that our media did not. Incidentally, I met a female videographer who went to Iraq on behalf of a network, but her footage and reporting was never shown – so you can’t say they didn’t know. Proceeds of the sale of this brave film go directly to relief efforts in Iraq. To order a copy visit ConceptionMedia.net.
©2006 Fellowship of Reconciliation
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