Deborah Scranton (born 1962) is an American film director. She directed '' The War Tapes'', a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

detailing the personal stories of soldiers in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. It was the first of its kind in that she sent the soldiers video cameras so they can shoot raw footage of their actual, on hand experiences in combat. The film won several honors, including Best International Documentary at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

and Best International Documentary at BritDoc in 2006 and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2007. Scranton also produced and directed ''Bad Voodoo's War'', for Frontline/PBS and ITVS. The show first aired April 1, 2008. It reprised her virtual embed technique, focusing on a squad of U.S.soldiers deploying as part of the 'Surge'. Deborah Scranton Paul Kagame Shankbone

Her latest film, '' Earth Made Of Glass'', had its world premiere at the 2010

in World Documentary Competition. A political thriller set in Rwanda and France, ''Earth Made of Glass'' features the

President of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presi ...

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...

as one of the film's main characters. ''Earth Made of Glass'' aired on HBO in April 2011 and was nominated as Best Documentary by the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

. The film won a Peabody Award in 2012. In 2007, she was a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

with the Global Media Project in the Global Security Program and taught a senior seminar on documentary filmmaking and social change. Scranton speaks internationally on her "virtual embed" filmmaking technique. She has spoken at conferences and institutions including TED, Nordic Media Festival, The Frontline Club, Harvard, Yale, Center For Irregular Warfare – Quantico and the Tribeca Cinema Film Series. Scranton started her career in television covering sports events including the Tour de France, the Winter Olympics, and US Open Tennis and was also a special assignment reporter. Her work has been profiled in publications including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune. A former US ski team member, she resides on a farm in the mountains of New Hampshire. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

from

and a

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies or Master of Liberal Arts (ALM, MALA, MLS, or MALS) is a graduate degree that aims to provide both depth and breadth of study in the liberal arts. It is by nature an interdisciplinary program, generally pull ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

References

*
The War Tapes
' at '' Tribeca Film'' *
Front and Center: Deborah Scranton's "The War Tapes"
' by Michael Joshua Rowin with responses from Chris Wisniewski and Nicolas Rapold, '' indieWIRE,'' May 30, 2006 *
'The War Tapes': Soldiers Tell Their Own Iraq Stories
'' article by Michele Norris, ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

,'' June 30, 2006 *
Film sees war through soldiers' eyes
'' article by Richard Allen Greene, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

,'' June 2, 2006 *
Deborah Scranton: Scenes from "The War Tapes"
'' Scranton's TED presentation

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scranton, Deborah American documentary film directors Film directors from New Hampshire 1962 births Living people Brown University alumni Dartmouth College alumni American women film directors