My Country, My Country


My Country, My Country is a 2006 documentary film about Iraq under U.S. occupation by the filmmaker Laura Poitras.

Film

Laura Poitras spent over eight months working on her own and for some time following a US Army Civil Affairs team during the elections in Iraq filming the documentary. The film shows life in Iraq for average Iraqis under U.S. occupation. Poitras focuses primarily on Dr. Riyadh al-Adhadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate.
The film was well received by critics and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The film had a limited U.S. theatrical release. The PBS program P.O.V. broadcast the film in October 2006.
After completing the film, Poitras claims "Since completing My Country, My Country, I've been placed on the Department of Homeland Security's watch list" and to have been notified by airport security "that my 'threat rating' was the highest the Department of Homeland Security assigns". The film is one of three in a series, with the second being The Oath. The third, Citizenfour, focuses on the NSA's domestic surveillance programs. She is suing the U.S. government over her 40 detentions by US officials.