Once Upon a Time in Iraq

Once Upon a Time in Iraq is a 2020 British documentary television miniseries, directed by James Bluemel and narrated by British-Iraqi Andy Serkis.[1][2] Composed of five episodes, it features interviews with Iraqi citizens, as well as American military personnel and international journalists about the Iraqi conflict and its effects on the Iraqi people.[3][4]

Once Upon a Time in Iraq
Poster
GenreDocumentary
Narrated byAndy Serkis
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languagesEnglish
Arabic
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producersWill Anderson
Andrew Palmer
ProducerJo Abel
Running time296 minutes (BBC)
113 minutes (PBS)
Production companyKEO Films
Release
Original networkBBC
Original release13 July (2020-07-13) –
10 August 2020 (2020-08-10)

Overview

The series chronologically covers the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein, and its subsequent occupation of Iraq (2003–2011); the first phase of the Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006); the Iraqi Civil War (2006–2008); the post-US withdrawal insurgency (2011–2013); and the War in Iraq (2013–2017), an armed conflict between the Iraqi Army and its allies against the Islamic State.

The first episode was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 13 July 2020.[2] A heavily edited, single-episode, feature-length version was subsequently broadcast in the United States by PBS as part of their Frontline series on 14 July 2020.[5] The American version omitted the interviews with Rudy Reyes and Nathan Sassaman among others.[6] The American version also completely omits the third episode on the Battle of Fallujah.

The series was widely acclaimed in the British press, winning the awards for best documentary and outstanding series at the Rose d'Or festival in December 2020, in addition to being named Best Factual Series at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Interviewees

Note: Several of the above were omitted from the version made for American television.

Episodes
No. Title Directed by Original air date
1"War"James BluemelJuly 13, 2020 (2020-07-13)
2"Insurgency"James BluemelJuly 20, 2020 (2020-07-20)
3"Fallujah"James BluemelJuly 27, 2020 (2020-07-27)
4"Saddam"James BluemelAugust 3, 2020 (2020-08-03)
5"Legacy"James BluemelAugust 10, 2020 (2020-08-10)

Reception

Once Upon a Time in Iraq received critical acclaim following its release. The Guardian called it "a gripping, harrowing masterpiece" and praised its content, noting the use of interviews with people who were there, as opposed to prioritising interviews with politicians and analysts.[28] New Statesman similarly gave it a rave review, calling it a "duty" to watch and praising Bluemel's storytelling.[29]

References
  1. Aly, Remona (13 July 2020). "'No one is pure evil': the documentary bringing a human face to the Iraq war". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  2. Littlejohn, Georgina (13 July 2020). "Everything you need to know about new BBC documentary series Once Upon a Time in Iraq". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. "Once Upon A Time in Iraq". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  4. Cooke, Rachel (10 August 2020). "Why everyone must watch Once Upon A Time in Iraq". New Statesman. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. "Once Upon A Time In Iraq". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  6. "Iraq War: "We are systematically programmed to kill" - BBC". Youtube. 26 July 2020.
  7. O'Grady, Sean (13 July 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review: A sensitively made film about the war – at last, we hear from those who went through it". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  8. Nicholson, Rebecca (13 July 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review – a gripping, harrowing masterpiece". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. Singh, Anita (10 August 2020). "Once Upon A Time in Iraq, episode 5 review: this is the documentary series of the year". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  10. Morgan, Jillian (10 December 2020). ""Once Upon A Time In Iraq" wins best doc honors at 2020 Rose d'Or Awards". reelscreen.com. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  11. "Rose d'Or 2020 winners announced – Rose d'Or Awards". Rose d'Or Official Site. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  12. "BAFTA TV Awards 2021: The full list of winners". Sky News. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. "Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah". The BBC. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  14. "Iraq War: 'I am here today because another man died'". The BBC. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  15. "Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Insurgency". The BBC. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  16. Freeman, Colin (3 August 2020). "Ahmed Albasheer: if freedom of speech is under threat in the West, the rest of us will never have it". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  17. "Once Upon A Time In Iraq - Transcript". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  18. Midgley, Carol (21 July 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review — every head of state should watch this and learn". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  19. Nicholson, Rebecca (13 July 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review – a gripping, harrowing masterpiece". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  20. "'How I survived an IS massacre'". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  21. Boghani, Priyanka (14 July 2020). "Four Iraqis on Searching For Hope 17 Years After the Iraq War". PBS. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  22. "FRONTLINE Presents "Once Upon a Time in Iraq"— the Iraq War as You've Never Seen It Before". PBS. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  23. Kenny, Ursula (5 December 2020). "I got hundreds of messages after Once Upon a Time in Iraq". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  24. "'No one is pure evil': the documentary bringing a human face to the Iraq war". the Guardian. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  25. "Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Saddam". The BBC. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  26. Midgley, Carol (14 July 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review — a compelling look at war from street level". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  27. Bluemel, James (13 July 2020). "I hope viewers will reflect on the fact that the invasion of Iraq was utterly pointless". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  28. "Once Upon a Time in Iraq review – a gripping, harrowing masterpiece". the Guardian. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  29. "Why everyone must watch Once Upon A Time in Iraq". www.newstatesman.com. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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