UNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQ

Year: 2004
USA: Cinema Libre Distribution
UK: Blue Dolphin Film & Video
Cast (the experts): David Albright, Robert Baer, Milt Bearden, Rand Beers, Bill Christison, David Corn, Philip Coyle, John Dean, Patrick Eddington, Chas Freeman, Graham Fuller, Mel Goodman, Larry C Johnson, Dr David Kay, John Brady Kiesling, Karen Kwiatkowski, Patrick Lang, Dr David C MacMichael, Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Clare Short, Stansfield Turner, Henry Waxman, Thomas E White, Joseph C Wilson, Col. Mary Ann Wright, Peter Zimmerman
Cast (archive footage): Dr. Hans Blix, George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Ari Fleisher, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz
Director: Robert Greenwald
Country: USA
USA & UK: 83 mins
UK Certificate: PG contains some war reality footage
USA Release Date: 3 September 2004 (San Francisco)
USA Release Date: 27 August 2004 (Limited Release - Los Angeles)
USA Release Date: 20 August 2004 (Limited Release - New York, Boston and Washington)
UK Release Date: 29 October 2004 (Limited Release - London)

The Director's Introduction

The moment I conceived UNCOVERED is still fresh and clear in my mind. It was an early morning in late June, I was reading the paper, and in the middle of a long article about Iraq, one of the Bush Administration folks was quoted, speaking about "programs for weapons of mass destruction" and how sure he was that they would find "programs." I got a knot in my stomach and a feeling of deep concern. We did not go to war for a program. A program can be a paper, a blueprint, some notes.

We went to war because we were told there were weapons...and that the threat was imminent and dangerous.

But the article did not in any way challenge this revisionist explanation of the "why." I imagined a headline - "Programs for WMD Found!" - and I feared that we would all just accept that. The next day I began UNCOVERED, intending to juxtapose this new line of argument about "programs" versus the original images, words, and speeches about weapons of mass destruction. We all have short emotional memories, and I wanted to re-create the atmosphere in which the warnings were given, using the actual words and statements of the Bush Administration.

The following day I read about Ray McGovern and his amazing organization, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, a group of former CIA employees who were questioning the reasons for the war. I called Ray and we talked at length. I was very impressed and affected by his clear-headed analysis.

Now the film, conceptually, came together. I would use the CIA experts, and other high-level professionals including Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson and weapons inspector David Albright. Operating from their expertise, they would analyze and explain, logically and practically, why the reasons we were given for going to war were not accurate. This would be contrasted with the Bush Administration's explanations and warnings.

As I continued to work on the film, I met more and more people who had intimate knowledge about Iraq, weapons, intelligence and inspections, and who were willing to come forward and talk, whatever their politics - Republicans, Democrats, independents, some in favor of the war, some against. All were united and passionate in their convictions that the reasons we were being given for war on Iraq were, at best, misleading.

As the scope of the project expanded, I ran out of resources and reached out to Wes Boyd at MoveOn.org and John Podesta at the Center for American Progress (CAP). They came through immediately with financial support, enabling me to finish the original hour-long documentary. I have made over 50 films including theatrical, cable, and television, all utilizing the existing distribution system. In the case of UNCOVERED, I wanted it seen quickly. So I never considered the traditional gatekeepers. Rather, I looked at the strengths of the partners. CAP had wonderful contacts among the opinion makers and D.C. policy experts, while MoveOn.org had this phenomenal grassroots Internet constituency. So we created an alternative distribution concept with CAP hosting screenings in Washington D.C., New York, L.A, and Boston, with MoveOn.org promoting nationwide house party screenings of the film to its members. Philippe Diaz of Cinema Libre Studio was at an early screening and saw the amazing audience response and was visionary enough to encourage me to create a full-length film with lots of additional material. Cinema Libre Studio came on as a co-producer and worldwide distribution partner and now we have a full length 35mm feature film mm opening in theatres August 20th in New York, Boston and D.C., and have been invited to international film festivals including Munich, Locarno and Deauville.

The hunger for serious material that confronts the most important issues of the day is wide and deep. I am proud to be part of the important debate that is now going on in our country, about the direction of our country, our policies and who we are in the world. I hope that UNCOVERED can play a role in that debate, and can help inspire others to believe, as I do, that democracy is not a spectator sport. - Robert Greenwald

Synopsis

In his documentary feature, UNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQ, filmmaker Robert Greenwald chronicles the Bush Administration's determined quest to invade Iraq following the events of September 11, 2001. The film deconstructs the administration's case for war through interviews with U.S intelligence and defense officials, foreign service experts, and U.N. weapons inspectors - including a former CIA director, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even President's Bush's Secretary of the Army. Their analyses and conclusions are sobering, and often disturbing, regardless of one's political affiliations.

Greenwald had previously produced and directed UNCOVERED: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WAR ON IRAQ, a 57-minute short film released exclusively on DVD in December of 2003. Subsequent events and information about the war, however, convinced Greenwald to re-examine his film. He added more footage (including an exclusive interview with Dr. David Kay) and re-edited the film, resulting in the current 90-minute feature.