OPERATION FILMMAKER International Documentary Competition

After seeing a documentary about a 25-year-old Iraqi film student whose school was destroyed, Liev Schreiber decided to help. So he invited Muthana Mohmed to work on the production of his film EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED in Prague. But getting coffee and making copies is not Mohmed ‘s idea of learning how to direct. And that’s only the beginning of the culture clash. No one wants to go home when nothing is left but a war zone and a young filmmaker can become pretty desperate to justify his value in a world he knows little about . Nina Davenport ‘s study of good intentions gone horribly awry is poignant , uncomfortably funny and tragic . With his home in flames, Mohmed has nowhere to go. But how long can the American filmmakers support a young man who they will eventually have to leave? This real-life portrait of clashing cultures shines a bright light()II America’s role in global politics.