Just three days after Bradley Manning was arraigned for his role in allegedly spreading classified documents in the massive Wikileaks episode, a documentary film based on one of the most dramatic of those leaks is being feted Sunday at the Academy Awards.
"Incident in New Baghdad?" is based on an event captured in a dramatic 17-minute black-and-white raw feed from a U.S. Army helicopter that was the first high-profile release by Wikileaks. It has been nominated for Best Documentary, Short Subject.
The video allegedly leaked by Manning captured the sights and sounds of an Apache helicopter crew as it came across a group of people milling about in Baghdad, and then opened fire, killing most of them. The victims later turned out to be innocent civilians and reporters, carrying cameras rather than grenade launchers.
To make the film, director James Spione interviewed Spc. Ethan McCord, who was at the scene during the original 2007 incident, and who helped rescue two young children who were wounded in the attack.
If Manning, who is currently being detained in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is even able to catch a glimpse of the celebration of the movie he helped make possible, he won't be able to bask in the glory for long. His trial is set to resume in mid-March.