Laura Poitras

“I hope Americans who watch My Country, My Country will see the people of Iraq with new eyes,” says Laura Poitras. This desire to shed light on the lives and struggles of disenfranchised groups runs through much of her work. She won a Peabody Award for Flag Wars, her 2003 documentary on a gentrification battle that pitted two historically oppressed communities in Columbus, Ohio against each other — African-Americans and gays. Based in New York, the former chef studied film at the San Francisco Art Institute and the New School. My Country, My Country, which documents daily life in Iraq under U.S. occupation, was hailed by The Village Voice as “the most valuable piece of film to emerge about the war” and was nominated for an Oscar. While making the film, Poitras was placed on the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security’s watch list. She usually shoots and co-edits her own films.

Selected Filmography

My Country, My Country (2006)
Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature

Flag Wars (2003)
Peabody Award
SXSW Film Festival — SXSW Competition Award
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival — CDS Filmmaker Award

Oh Say Can You See ...? (2004)

Exact Fantasy (1995)