Synopsis:
A war of national liberation or war against terrorism? Filmmaker and
acclaimed freelance journalist Kevin McKiernan poses this question at
the outset of this stirring, provocative film shot in part by legendary
cinematographer Haskell Wexler. It's all in how you define "good"and
"bad". "Good Kurds" are those in Iraq: they are Saddam Hussein's
victims, whom we want to help. "Bad Kurds" are those waging an armed
insurrection against Turkey, an American ally: they are the receiving
end of US weaponry. During the first Gulf War, McKiernan went to
northern Iraq to cover the uprising against Saddam Hussein. Just a few
miles away no one was covering the hidden war in Turkey. McKiernan
determined he would report the story independently.
Good Kurds,
Bad Kurds -- nine years in the making -- delves deeply into the U.S.'s
complicity in this human rights disaster, indicting the mainstream news
outlets that, by staying quiet, help perpetuate the violence. Shot in
part by three-time Academy Award winner Haskell Wexler, Good Kurds, Bad
Kurds travels from Santa Barbara, California, home to a small Kurdish
refugee community, to Washington, D.C, where an activist struggles to
gain the attention of lawmakers and the media and fight his deportation,
and to Turkey, where the anti-Kurd campaign continues. Good Kurds, Bad
Kurds brings sharp clarity to a complicated history, while providing
disturbing insight into immigration practices and US foreign policy.
Cinematographers: Haskell Wexler,
Kevin McKiernan
Editor: Thomas G. Miller
Music: Bronwen Jones
Director: McKiernan
