HOW WE FIGHT Program 1: Iraqi Short Films

Iraqi Short Films
by Mauro Andrizzi, video 94 min. (Argentina, 2008)

This fall kino21 presents "How We Fight: Conscripts, Mercenaries, Terrorists and Peacekeepers", an international series of five programs that examine various forms of soldiering. One by one these programs illuminate the realities and experiences of fighters on the ground and question some of the labels we use.

Tonight's video is a compilation of short DIY videos shot in the midst of war, whether by US or British soldiers, Iraqi militia members, or corporate workers. They are a mix of slices of life recorded on video (some shot in battle), pithy propaganda pieces, and soldiers’ visions of war as music video. Ranging from the banal to the intense, from the shocking to the darkly humorous, Andrizzi’s collection depicts war as experienced, articulated, and vividly imagined by those actually fighting and dying in it.