The directors of Occupation: Dreamland, Ian Olds and Garrett Scott, were “embedded” with the 505 Parachute Regiment of the now infamous 82nd Airborne in Iraq throughout the filming. The embedding technique was a post-Vietnam response by the Pentagon , meant to achieve a greater level of control over the media by keeping journalists (or anyone with a camera) as far away from the action as possible. While this tactic may have been successful in controlling the media in the arena of broadcast or “breaking” news, the documentary format is by nature less urgent—and is therefore less susceptible to this particular style of suppression. In the case of Dreamland, a documentary named for the American military base in Iraq where Olds and Scott spent the winter of 2004, time and careful editing have painted a detailed picture of the experiences of eight soldiers who were interviewed. Olds is certainly a skilled editor, having co-written and edited his first feature (2002’s well-received Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story, which Scott directed), but here he doesn’t rely on the well-placed cuts and devilish montages that seem to be the secret weapons of so many great documentarians. Rather, the individuals who are the film’s main focus create a believable scenario that would preclude such post-production manipulations. That the men are all very different in terms of their position on the war, as well as in their backgrounds, lends credence not only to their stories but to the sincerity of the filmmakers. Though the footage was shot just months before both the 82nd Battallion assumed full-scale battle against the insurgency and the scandal broke at Abu Ghraib, the current concensus that morale and support for the war is at an all-time low makes this documentary as timely now as when it was released. Director Ian Olds is appearing as Hallwalls’ “Artist in Person” for a screening and discussion of this work.

Friday, May 26 at 8pm. Hallwalls’ Cinema at the Church, 341 Delaware Ave. (854-1694)

www.hallwalls.org; $5-$7