Films on Guantánamo and Iraq face war of cuts
By Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
05/18/06 "The
Guardian" -- -- Two new films which expose
unpleasant truths about Guantanamo and the battle for Iraq are
coming under pressure from censors in the United States.
The Motion Pictures Association of America has censored a poster
advertising a film about the Tipton three, called The Road to
Guantanamo, that showed a hooded and blindfolded man hanging by
his shackled wrists. Also, the makers of Baghdad ER, a
documentary about a US military combat hospital, told the
Guardian yesterday that Francis Harvey, the secretary of the
army, had demanded last-minute changes to the film.
The Guantanamo film ran into difficulties with the MPAA last
month when it submitted its advertising material for customary
review. To the surprise of Howard Cohen, president of Roadside
Attractions which is distributing the film in the US, the
association demanded that the poster for the R-rated film be
toned down.
"It was the head in the burlap sack that pushed it over the edge
for them," Mr Cohen said. The film will be advertised instead by
a poster which shows only a pair of shackled hands and arms.
"It's outrageous that they are objecting to this image ... They
are saying ... children in the US should not be allowed to see
what it is we are doing to people in Guantanamo." The MPAA
offered no comment.
The makers of Baghdad ER say the senior leadership of the
Pentagon has turned against their film, despite cooperation
during its making in Baghdad and a positive reception at
screenings at military bases. "Somebody wearing a tie and not a
uniform seems to have a political agenda and is trying to
influence this film," said the director, Jon Alpert.
The army surgeon general, Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, issued
a health warning against the film, saying it could cause
post-traumatic stress disorder. But Major Crystal Oliver, an
army spokeswoman, said there was no attempt to censor and that
the military was happy with the portrayal. "The leadership are
proud of those soldiers in the film." she said.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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