Severe Clear

Mike Scotti was a First Lieutenant with the U.S. Marines when he and his outfit, the First Battalion, were sent to Iraq as part of the American invasion forces in 2003. Along with his weapons, Scotti brought a miniature digital video camera into battle, and he kept a record of what he and his fellow soldiers saw as they traveled through hostile territory en route to Baghdad. When Scotti returned from Iraq, he teamed up with filmmaker Kristian Fraga to fashion his rough footage into a film, and the documentary Severe Clear was the result. Scotti and Fraga have opted not to make a political statement or a broadside for or against the war; instead, Severe Clear offers a first person account of the soldier's experience on the front lines of Iraq, a place of constant danger where nothing can be predicted but the unexpected and terror and excitement walk hand in hand. Severe Clear was an official selection at the 2009 South By Southwest Film Festival.