Alum’s Omar Khadr doc nominated for Emmy

It’s not Reed’s first high-level recognition. He also worked on the documentary film Shake Hands With The Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire, which won the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and the Emmy for Best Documentary in 2007.

Dallaire is distinguished senior fellow at Concordia’s Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS).

“When you tackle the subjects that I have, the starting point, the motivation is not to win awards,” says Reed. “But anything that brings attention to the film, to the subject matter, is a positive thing.”

The recognition has another practical benefit. “Being nominated for a big award or having your film screened at an important film festival is a nice way of countering what I often deal with when pitching new projects — the assumption that Canadian audiences really don’t care about complex stories and international issues,” Reed says. “I like to say, ‘Here’s the proof.’”

“I know there are things in the film that are difficult for him to watch, and that’s understandable. He has been present at screenings and speaks about the film, so that indicates to me that he is supportive, that he sees something truthful or interesting in the film,” Reed says.

“I mean, today he is 29 years old, and the film explores a lot of what happened in his life when he was 15-16. Like anybody with a troubled past and trying to move forward, you don’t want to be overly trapped in the past.”

Reed came to Concordia in 1994 to pursue a master’s degree. “I went there because they had something pretty unique at the time, MIGS, and a field — genocide studies — that I was always interested in,” he explains.

“That program really shaped me. But I switched over to film because I wanted to reach larger audiences.

Reed maintains ties to MIGS. “Throughout all the films I have made in the past 15 years, I am still in touch with current professors there, sharing information and contacts,” he says.

“So on an intellectual and practical level, Concordia still enriches the work I am doing today.”

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