''The List'' is a 2012 documentary film produced and directed by
Beth Murphy. The List premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on April 21, 2012.
Synopsis
The List is a modern-day
Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler (; 28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974) was a German industrialist, humanitarian and a member of the Nazi Party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ...
story that focuses on
Kirk W. Johnson
Kirk Wallace Johnson is an American author, journalist, and founder of The List Project, a not-for-profit organization that helps resettle Iraqi refugees who previously worked for the U.S. government during the Iraq War. He served as the U.S. ...
, a young American fighting to save thousands of Iraqis whose lives are in danger because they worked for the U.S. to help rebuild
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. After leading reconstruction teams in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
and
Fallujah
Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Je ...
, Kirk returns home only to discover that many of his former Iraqi colleagues are being killed, kidnapped or forced into exile by radical militias. Frustrated by a stagnating government bureaucracy in the U.S. that has failed to protect its 'Iraqi allies,' Kirk begins compiling a list of their names and helps them find refuge and a new life in America.
Over the course of 4 years, the film traces the evolution of Kirk's unlikely humanitarian mission, while revealing the personal struggles of several Iraqis on 'Kirk's List' who are living in hiding and stranded in countries that don't want them. Yaghdan and Ibrahim, two of Kirk's friends and former colleagues who fled Iraq after receiving death threats, are among the first of several hundred Iraqis to make it to the United States. As Kirk travels throughout the Middle East with refugee lawyer Chris Nugent, we hear from a chorus of other U.S.-affiliated Iraqis who share heartbreaking stories of sacrifice and betrayal.
In the end, Kirk has helped more than a thousand “Iraqi allies” reach the safety of American shores. But with thousands remaining on his list, he is left to confront the limitations of humanitarian action. How many people can he save? Where does his commitment to the Iraqi people end? When can he leave the war behind?
See also
*
List Project
References
[Principle Pictures.co]
"THE LIST synopsis"
Retrieved on 27 March 2012.
External links
* http://thelistproject.org/
* http://www.thelistfilm.com
American documentary films
2012 films
Documentary films about the Iraq War
2012 documentary films
Documentary films about refugees
Documentary films about immigration to the United States
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
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