Battle for Haditha, the latest feature film from acclaimed filmmaker Nick Broomfield (Ghosts), for Channel 4, is based on a real-life story of violence and retribution in Iraq. The film is the centrepiece of Channel 4's Happy Birthday Iraq season.
On 19 November 2005, Iraqi insurgents bombed a US Marines convoy, resulting in the death of their most popular officer. Enraged by their loss, his young squadron went in search of the insurgents, violently storming a series of houses in the village of Haditha. In total, 24 people were killed, many of them women and children.
This is a war film about ordinary people in an impossible situation. Stories from all sides are brought to the forefront: the young, inexperienced US Marines, many of whom had never travelled outside America, the Iraqi insurgents, and the residents of Haditha, innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire: all embroiled in a war not of their own making.
Preview courtesy of Channel 4
Battle for Haditha is a Film programme that first aired in 2007 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
