The War Tapes
The War Tapes is a 2006 American war documentary film directed by Deborah Scranton.
The film is the first documentary account of the 2003 invasion of Iraq to be produced by the soldiers themselves.
The film( released commercially in 2006) follows three New Hampshire Army National Guard soldiers before, during, and after their deployment to Iraq about a year after the invasion.
Their unit was Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment( Mountain), which deployed from March 2004 to February 2005.
The three soldiers with cameras featured in the film are SPC Michael Moriarty who signed up in a burst of patriotism after 9/11 and asked to be shipped to Iraq.
His colleagues are SGT Stephen Pink, who joined the National Guard to help pay for college, and SGT Zack Bazzi.
Two other soldiers, SGT Duncan Domey and SPC Brandon Wilkins, also filmed their entire deployments for the film.
In all, 17 soldiers were given cameras and recorded 800 hours of tape in Iraq.
Stateside interviews with the soldiers and their families made up an additional 200 hours of tape.
The" cast" was narrowed to three soldiers for the final feature- length film.
They were chosen in part because they were seen by the director and producers as the" main characters".
The film won the prize for Best International Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in May 2006 and also Best International Documentary at BRITDOC in July 2006.
The documentary was released for sale on DVD in North America on May 15, 2007.
Moreover, it is possibly the most innovative result of the embedded reporter program.
In this case the reporter did not go to Iraq, but provided cameras to the soldiers, and provided direction on filming to them via instant messaging and email.
Deborah Scranton
Deborah Scranton( born 1962) is an American film director.
She directed" The War Tapes", a documentary detailing the personal stories of soldiers in the Iraq War.
It was the first of its kind in that she sent the soldiers video cameras so they can shoot raw footage of their actual, on hand experiences in combat.
The film won several honors, including Best International Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best International Documentary at BritDoc in 2006 and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2007.
Scranton also produced and directed" Bad Voodoo's War", for Frontline/ PBS and ITVS.
The show first aired April 1, 2008.
It reprised her virtual embed technique, focusing on a squad of U.S.soldiers deploying as part of the' Surge'.
Her latest film," Earth Made Of Glass", had its world premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in World Documentary Competition.
A political thriller set in Rwanda and France," Earth Made of Glass" features the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame as one of the film's main characters.
" Earth Made of Glass" aired on HBO in April 2011 and was nominated as Best Documentary by the Producer's Guild of America.
The film won a Peabody Award in 2012.
In 2007, she was a visiting fellow at The Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University with the Global Media Project in the Global Security Program and taught a senior seminar on documentary filmmaking and social change.
Scranton speaks internationally on her" virtual embed" filmmaking technique.
She has spoken at conferences and institutions including TED, Nordic Media Festival, The Frontline Club, Harvard, Yale, Center For Irregular Warfare – Quantico and the Tribeca Cinema Film Series.
Scranton started her career in television covering sports events including the Tour de France, the Winter Olympics, and US Open Tennis and was also a special assignment reporter.
Her work has been profiled in publications including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune.
A former US ski team member, she resides on a farm in the mountains of New Hampshire.
She holds degrees from Brown University and Dartmouth College.
Hanro Smitsman
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Forbidden Zone
Forbidden Zone is an American musical fantasy comedy film directed and produced by Richard Elfman, and co-written by Elfman and fellow Mystic Knights member Matthew Bright.
The film was released in 1982, but many sources erroneously list it as being a 1980 release.
Originally shot on black- and- white film, the film is based upon the stage performances of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo and revolves around an alternate universe accessed through a door in the house of the Hercules family.
The composing debut of Danny Elfman, the film stars Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell and members of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, and features appearances by Warhol Superstar Viva, Joe Spinell and The Kipper Kids.
Villechaize kicked his cheque back into the production and even painted sets on weekends.
The only actual paid actor was Phil Gordon, who played Flash; all the other SAG actors kicked their cheques back into the show.
The film was made as an attempt to capture the essence of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo's live performances on film, and also as a means for both director Elfman to retire from music to work on film projects, and to serve as a transition between the group's former cabaret style and a new wave- based style.
Amid negative reactions to content in the film that had been perceived as being offensive, the film was screened as a midnight movie, received positive notice, and developed a cult following.
In 2004, the film was digitally restored and released on DVD, and in 2008, the film was colorized.
Elfman has long been planning a sequel entitled" The Forbidden Galaxy".
He has raised an initial sum via crowdfunding site IndieGoGo, and in November 2017 updated that he is still working on getting the project off the ground.
Elfman has also licensed" Forbidden Zone" as an intellectual property for manufacturers to produce collectibles based on the film's characters.
Ben Cura
Ben Cura( born 30 September 1988) is a British- Argentine actor and director of film, television and theatre.
Peter Levin
Peter Levin is an American director of film, television and theatre.
Richard Elfman
Richard" Rick" Elfman( born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher.
Brian Johnson (special effects artist)
Brian Johnson( born 1939 or 1940) is a British designer and director of film and television special effects.
Jason Moore (director)
Jason Moore( born October 22, 1970) is an American director of film, theatre and television.
Ian Barry (director)
Ian Barry is an Australian director of film and TV.

Question: Are both director of film Forbidden Zone and director of film The War Tapes from the same country?
Answer: yes