Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts

July 7, 2017

Special Projects Documentary Series Screenings

A new type of warfare is exposed in Director Matthew Heineman’s documentary, City of Ghosts.

Heineman’s documentary goes behind enemy lines in Syria and follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a citizen journalist collective who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. They risk their lives as they attempt to expose the human rights violations by ISIS and fight the terrorist group's misinformation campaigns in a new battlefront over ideas and a fight for hearts and minds via clicks and views. City of Ghosts premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and will be released in theaters this July.

On July 6, Heineman is spoke about the making of City of Ghosts with Director Amy Berg (Janis: Little Girl Blue) following the Eastern Region Special Projects screening in New York. Heineman had previously dicussed the film in a conversation moderated by DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles) following the DGA Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in the Guild's Los Angeles Theater on May 24.

In addition to City of Ghosts, Heineman’s filmography includes the documentary features Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare and Cartel Land, for which took home the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. Cartel Land also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and was nominated for the Academy Award for "Best Documentary Feature." Heineman has been a DGA member since 2015.

You can listen to Heineman's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find all DGA podcast episodes here.

Pictures

Photos by Krista Kennell (New York) and Shane Karns (Los Angeles).
Print Courtesy of Amazon Studios and IFC Films.

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Director Matthew Heineman speaks about the making of his documentary, City of Ghosts, following the DGA screening in New York.

Director Matthew Heineman speaks about the making of his documentary, City of Ghosts, following the DGA screening in Los Angeles.

An image from Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

DGA Eastern Region Special Projects Committee Member Susanna Styron introduces Director Matthew Heineman’s documentary, City of Ghosts at the DGA screening in New York

Director Matthew Heineman and DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (moderator) discuss the making of the documentary, City of Ghosts, following the DGA screening in Los Angeles.

Directors Matthew Heineman and Amy Berg (moderator) discuss the making of Heineman’s documentary, City of Ghosts, following the DGA screening in New York.

An image from Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

Director Amy Berg (moderator) asks Director Matthew Heineman a question about the making of City of Ghosts.

DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (moderator) asks Director Matthew Heineman a question about the making of City of Ghosts.

An image from Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

A DGA Los Angeles Theater audience member asks Director Matthew Heineman a question.

The DGA New York Theater audience hears more about the making of Matthew Heineman’s documentary City of Ghosts.

An image from Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

Director Matthew Heineman and DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (moderator) pose for a photo following the Los Angeles Q&A about Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

Directors Matthew Heineman and Amy Berg (moderator) pose for a photo following the Q&A about Heineman’s City of Ghosts in New York.

An image from Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts.

Director Matthew Heineman chats with a members of the DGA New York Theater audience following the Q&A about his documentary, City of Ghosts.

Director Matthew Heineman (right) chats with members of the DGA Los Angeles Theater audience following the Q&A about his documentary, City of Ghosts.

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