Occupation: Dreamland

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Occupation: Dreamland

Promotional poster for Occupation: Dreamland
Directed by Ian Olds and Garrett Scott
Distributed by Rumur Releasing
Release date(s) May 19, 2006
Running time 78 min
Country USA
Language English
Official website
IMDb profile

Occupation: Dreamland is a "grunt's-eye view,"[1] documentary film focused on a company of the 1/505 of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fallujah, Iraq, in early 2004. It is directed by Ian Olds and Garrett Scott.

The title comes from the nickname of the base, Camp Volturno, on the outskirts of Fallujah. The American soldiers housed there called the place "Camp Dreamland." The film includes interviews with US soldiers, footage of their patrols in Fallujah, as well as interviews with Iraqi civilians.

Occupation was at first received with discomfort in the avant-garde film community, some viewed it as being too sympathetic towards American foot soldiers and therefore it was seen as not sufficiently critical of the Iraq war. With time the film has gained a diehard following among various communities: film-buffs, intellectuals, peaceniks and Iraq vets as well as military families.

Garrett Scott died of a heart attack at age 37 in 2005, days before Occupation won the Independent Spirit Award (independent films, equivalent to the Academy Award.) Ian Olds has written and directed several short fiction films and is now working on a documentary about journalists in Afghanistan.


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