Doc/Fest - Sheffield

Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition

Rumours about extraordinary rendition have flown about for years. In this Witness production first hand accounts of the practise and its associated torture are told in stark terms. The lasting impression is frightening: this is the clearly the tip of a very deep iceberg.

Full Battle Rattle

In the heat of the desert, tensions are mounting. An American soldier has killed the Iraqi son of the Deputy Mayor of Medina Wasl. Iraqis take matters into their own hands and let loose their machine guns on the soldier. Luckily for him, the bullets are blank. For this is Medina Wasl, USA, in Californias Mojave desert, a mind blowingly large mock series of villages designed to stimulate conditions in Iraq. More than 1600 people here play elaborately devised roles, including 250 Iraqi speaking USA residents, some still seeking American citizenship. Complete with a press pack, this is the biggest reality show going, albeit a beautifully shot one which illuminates, in an often comical fashion, the complicated realities inherent in this conflict.