His international award-winning feature, "In the Shadow of the Palms" (2005), is a documentary shot in part during the last weeks of Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. It follows the Iraqis into "Operation Shock and Awe" and war. The last third of the film is based on Coles-Janess' return to Iraq in November 2003 for three months to document changes in life and society with the newly elected Iraqi government in place. This was the first Australian film to be entered in international competition in more than 12 years. There were no other entries.