Reed Van Dyk Debuts 4-Act Iraq War Drama at Cannes Fortnight
Updated
Updated · Variety · May 15
Reed Van Dyk Debuts 4-Act Iraq War Drama at Cannes Fortnight
4 articles · Updated · Variety · May 15
“Atonement,” Reed Van Dyk’s first feature, premiered in Directors’ Fortnight with a four-act structure tracing one Baghdad firefight across Iraqi civilians, a U.S. Marine and a reporter.
The film centers on an Iraqi family caught in a street battle during the war, then follows the aftermath years later as Boyd Holbrook’s Marine seeks contact with Hiam Abbass’ Mariam in California.
Van Dyk said Dexter Filkins’ reporting, foreign films and Joshua Oppenheimer’s 2012 documentary “The Act of Killing” shaped his approach to moral injury and the underseen civilian side of the conflict.
CAA Media Finance and Goodfellas are handling sales for the film, which stars Holbrook, Abbass and Kenneth Branagh and expands on Van Dyk’s shorts career after his Oscar-nominated “DeKalb Elementary.”
Does 'Atonement' offer reconciliation for the American soldier or justice for the Iraqi family he devastated?
Can a story of one soldier's guilt truly address the wider consequences of the 2003 Iraq invasion?