Looking for Trouble

Longley a “Genius” for Mideast Work

Seattle’s own filmmaker, James Longley, who has kept Iraqis and Palestinians at the forefront of his documentary films, has been awarded one of the prestigious MacArthur Awards for 2009. In addition to an incredible amount of kudos, the award, better known as the “genius award,” includes $500,000. That should fund a lot more people-focused coverage of the Middle East, which we all know is badly needed.

In an interview on YouTube about his film, Iraq in Fragments, Longley talks about the difficulty of shooting the lives of ordinary people during a war – with no crew, only a camera and a laptop, for the two years he spent in the country. Because of the danger of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings, most other foreign media types were holed up in the Green Zone, sending local, Iraqi journalists out to get photos and news. Not Longley. He took tremendous risks to get up close and personal with the people.

I first met Longley in 2002 when we traveled to Iraq with a group called the Iraqi Peace Team, which went there to work in clinics, food distribution sites, hospitals and other sites to make an anti-war statement and, if necessary, to act as human shields if war started while they were there. He was there on his own to shoot video about Iraqis struggling to live under brutal sanctions. I was sent there by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to write about people living under the threat of the war that began in 2003.

Longley was quiet, serious and very dedicated to his work. It’s obvious he still is. This award couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

James Longley during a PBS interview. (PBS photo)