In her director's statement, filmmaker/cinematographer Laura Poitras reveals that her motivation for making My Country, My Country was a sense of despair regarding the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its use of military force to establish democracy in the Middle East. Poitras spent eight months in Iraq working all by her lonesome on the documentary, which focuses on the January 2005 elections and tells the story of Dr. Riyadh al-Adhadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate who, despite being an outspoken critic of the occupation, is passionate about bringing democracy to his country. The film is presented at Eckerd College as part of its Presidential Events Series. Fri., Sept. 22, 7 p.m., Miller Auditorium, 4200 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, free admission, 727-864-7979, mycountrymycountry.com.
