
Documentarian
Garrett
Scott, whose
Occupation: Dreamland
(made with co-director
Ian Olds) powerfully depicts the life of
American soldiers in Falluja and was shortlisted for the best documentary Oscar, died in an accident on Thursday at the
age of 37. Scott's film is nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards' Truer Than Fiction prize, and he had planned to
attend today's ceremony; his shocking death will certainly give the normally celebratory ceremony a somber air. Though
Dreamland was only his second film, Scott was already well-known in the independent film community. On the
strength of his debut
Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story -
which told the story of "a man who stole an Army tank and drove it through the streets of a local suburb" -
he
was named one of
Filmmaker
Magazine's 25 New Faces in Independent Film for 2002, and the
outpouring of grief and affection at IndieWire
indicates that the respect and regard of his peers only grew over the next few years.
Occupation:
Dreamland will premiere on the Sundance Channel next month; the Independent Spirit Awards will air this afternoon
on IFC.