Synopsis

THE LIST tells the story of Kirk Johnson, a modern-day Oskar Schindler who is fighting to save Iraqis whose lives are in danger because they worked for the U.S. government and military to help rebuild Iraq. After leading reconstruction teams in Baghdad and Fallujah for the United States, Kirk discovers that many of his Iraqi friends and colleagues are being targeted as “collaborators with the enemy.” Perceived as traitors, their fates are sealed, and they are systematically hunted—killed, kidnapped, and forced into lives on the run. Frustrated by a stagnating government bureaucracy in the U.S. that fails to protect U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, Kirk begins compiling a list of their names and works with a team of lawyers to get them out of harm’s way. Bound by a sense of moral responsibility and honor, Kirk sets out to redeem a nation that has largely betrayed its Iraqi allies.

THE LIST was filmed over four years in Iraq, Syria Jordan, Egypt, and across the United States.

Supported by

Awards

• 2012 Woods Hole Film Festival – Audience Award/Best of the Festival winner
• 2012 Tribeca Film Festival world premiere
• 2012 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival official selection
• 2012 Independent Film Festival of Boston official selection
• 2012 Camden International Film Festival official selection
• 2012 Chicago Human Rights Watch official selection
• 2012 Hotdocs official selection
• 2012 Little x Rock Film Festival official selection
• 2012 Nantucket Film Festival official selection
• 2012 Abu Dhabi Film Festival official selection
• Global Peace Film Festival official selection
• 28th Warsaw Film Festival official selection

In the news

• ‘Forgotten in Iraq’ –  The New York Times (Dec. 5, 2012)
• ‘Documentary maker reveals truth’ – Women’s Adventure Magazine (Dec. 1, 2012)
• ‘Women Directors’ – IndieWire (March 7, 2012)
• ‘Review: The List’ – Variety (April 21, 2012)

Click here for more news and blog posts about THE LIST.

Buy the film

THE LIST is available on DVD for classrooms and communities.

Upcoming Screenings

There are no upcoming screenings at this time. Click here to see a list of past screenings.

Curriculum and study guide

To help your students get the most out of THE LIST educational experience, download the core standards-based curriculum and study guide that has been written to accompany the film. Written by Teaching Documentaries (founded by Columbia University Teachers College curriculum writers) and distributed by Facing History and Ourselves, THE LIST curriculum is designed to help explore essential questions and provide discussion resources.

Clips for the classroom

Below are the Video Teaching Modules that are designed to serve as trigger clips for discussion on the themes addressed in the film and curriculum. These can be viewed online here or downloaded through Vimeo.

America’s Iraqi Allies On Working for the U.S.

Refugees in Crisis

Moral Imperative & National Duty

The Value of Life

Responsibility & The Facts

Beth Murphy is a documentary filmmaker who has led production crews to all corners of the world, often in war-torn or developing countries in order to focus on human rights and women’s issues. She has produced, directed and written nearly 20 documentary films for national and international media outlets including The Sundance Channel, The History Channel, PBS, NHK, and numerous other international outlets.

Kevin Belli has worked with Beth Murphy as the Director of Photography and Senior Editor at Principle Pictures for the past 8 years. His extensive credit list includes Sundance Channel’s BEYOND BELIEF, ITVS funded THE LIST, History Channel’s FLYING PYRAMIDS—SOARING STONES, Discovery Channel’s FLU TIME BOMB, Lifetime’s FIGHTING FOR OUR FUTURE, and Discovery Health’s BREAST CANCER LEGACY. Kevin’s work as a DP has taken him to 16 countries on 4 continents.

Sean Flynn worked as part of the Principle Pictures’ team for 7 years as Producer of THE LIST and Associate Producer and Photographer for BEYOND BELIEF. Currently, he is the Director of the Points North Documentary Forum at Camden International Film Festival and a co-founder of the DocYard screening series in Cambridge, MA. In 2012, Sean was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to research a documentary film and interactive media project about the “slum tourism” industry in Mumbai, India.

John Califra is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated composer. His work for THE LIST is scored for an unconventional instrumental ensemble of 2 flutes, 2 horns, string orchestra, mezzo soprano soloist, piano and electronics. While THE LIST is a story about the Iraq War and, is largely set in Iraq, the score avoids references to Middle Eastern music. This choice came from the composer’s sense that stylistic contrivances would obscure the humanity that lay at the heart of the film’s narrative. The musical language of the score ranges from conventional tonality through non-tonal orchestral textures that are combined with brutal, electronically generated sounds. Structurally, the score derives its coherence through the use of memorable, recurrent themes which carry emotional power and directness. The score was recorded by members of the Czech Philharmonic at Sono Studios outside of Prague. It was conducted by Maestro Christo Pavlov.

Executive Producers
Charles Sennott
Nick Quested

Associate Producers
Beth Balaban
Alyssa Gantz
Nathan Tisdale

Graphics
Peggy Foley
Bill Ritchotte

Story Consultant
Nina Gilden-Seavey

Audio Mix
Brian Depaul Carey
Dexter Media

Second Camera
Sean Flynn

Additional Camera Operators
Yasser Faisal
Beth Balaban
Nathan Tisdale
Ryan Ferguson
Naiche Sol Chavira

Field Producer in Iraq
Muhammed Faisal

Translators:
Omar Alwaidh
Fady Mekhaeel
Mustafa Basree
Jennie Ives
Inas Ibrahim

Score produced by:
John Califra

Score recorded at Sono Studios, Prague, The Czech Republic by
Members of the Czech Philharmonic

Conductor
Christo Pavlov

Mezzo Soprano Soloist
Jana Dvorakova

Orchestral Studio Manager
Karolina Karlandrova

Score transcription:
Christo Pavlov

Orchestral recording Engineers
Pavel Karlick, Milan Cimfe & Mark Wissing

Orchestral score mix engineer
Milan Cimfe & Mark Wissing

Production Assistants
Rachelle Alfred
Kate Alves
Ryan Boekenkroeger
Barbara Campbell
Meghan Casey
Mark Childers
Bill Daras
Brandi Diaz
Delger Erdenesanaa
Jonathan Ehrlich
Sarah Flynn
Justine Frostad
Naeema Kitchens
Natalie Gergely
Lindsey Gordon
Danny Joseph
Kristen Klemarczyk
Yoshi Makishima
Dan McGuire
Scott Morris
Meaghan Moulton
Patrick Mullen
Muzhgan Rasul
Martin Page
Michael-Andrew Pursell
Meghan Seeberg
Ryan Shelby
Joe Sicora
Casey Stirling
Andie Verbance
Katina Vradelis
Ilyssa Walker
Andrew Wollman
Wendy Zhao

HD Finishing Services by Goldcrest

HD Colorist
John J. Dowdell III

HD Finishing Artist
Peter Heady

HD Post Production Supervisor
Tim Spitzer

HD Post Production Producer
Jean Lane
Jeanne Sison

Video Technicians
Michelle Ambruz
Joey Borges
John Lednak
Omar Oliveros

Archival footage provided by:
AP Archive
BBC Motion Gallery
CNN Image Source
Getty Images
United States Department of Defense

Special thanks to:
Talal Ajeel
Jerry & Gaye Belli
Shaine Belli
Howard & Mary Brundage
Lisa Barron
Jim & Jane Murphy
Martin Chulov
Bobby Dicks
Anna Feder
Donald Gantz
Eric Gulliver
Julie Gustafson
Ryan Harrington
Dennis Murphy
Isabelle Murphy
Laura Poitras
Neraj Tulli
Holland & Knight LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
US Army Office of Public Affairs
The U.S. Army soldiers & translators of Camp Falcon, Iraq
The U.S. Army soldiers & translators of Base Adder, Iraq
Major Alan Brown