Seattle filmmaker gets Oscar nod

Seattle filmmaker James Longley knew that his documentary "Iraq in Fragments" had a shot at an Oscar nomination, but he didn't plan to wake up early Tuesday. "For some reason I thought the nominations were going to be announced on Thursday," he said Tuesday morning, still sounding a bit sleepy. He'd been awakened by a conference call around 6 a.m. from the HBO documentary-film division with the good news: The film, directed by Longley and produced by Longley and John Sinno, was nominated for best documentary.

"It hasn't really set in yet, I guess," he said. "It's great, obviously. I'm looking at the list and I'm really happy that there's not one but two Iraq films there." He praised fellow nominee Laura Poitras, whose "My Country, My Country" is, like "Iraq in Fragments," a portrait of everyday citizens of Iraq.

Longley, a native Northwesterner (born in Eugene, Ore., he grew up on the San Juan Islands and now lives in Seattle), shot his film in Iraq over a three-year period. He's spent much of the past year traveling to various film festivals beginning with Sundance a year ago, where "Iraq in Fragments" won three awards. After numerous awards on the festival circuit, Seattle-based Typecast Releasing has been booking the film for theatrical engagements around the country, "everywhere from Juneau, Alaska, to Hawaii to the Midwest and New York and Vermont," Longley said. It will open in Britain this Friday, at London's Institute for Contemporary Art. "We've gotten really, really stellar press in the U.K.," said Longley. "So far this morning, about three different BBC people have called."

Now he's got more travel to plan: three trips to Los Angeles in February, for the Directors Guild of America dinner (where he is a nominee for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary), the Oscar nominees luncheon and Oscar night itself. "If anyone has a tuxedo that they don't need anymore, I might be in the market for one," he said with a laugh.

But, sartorial concerns aside, he's most pleased by the added recognition the nomination will bring to his film's subject. "I hope that in whatever small way," he said, "it does keep people thinking about the world that's beyond our borders."

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

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