Standard Operating Procedure

Sunday 14th September 2008 | Double bill with Fog of War book tickets

1hr 56.  USA 2008.  Directed by Errol Morris.

The photographs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and changed America’s image of itself. But a central mystery remains. Did the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs constitute evidence of systematic abuse by the American military, or were they documenting the aberrant behaviour of a few “bad apples”? What was happening outside the frame? Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Morris  here obtains the first-person testimonies of the soldiers charged with prisoner abuse in 2004, including the notoriously camera-friendly Lynndie England. It's hard not to recoil as their self-justifications clash with the repellent photographic evidence. But were these low-ranking individuals scapegoats for decisions taken much higher up the chain of command? Quite brilliant in its execution, this is a powerful work that pulls no punches in its search for answers.

click here to watch the trailer