Garrett Scott, 37; Prize-Winning Filmmaker Made Two Documentaries
from the LA Times
Garrett Scott was on his way to becoming an English professor when an unemployed plumber rampaged through the streets of suburban San Diego in a stolen Army tank.
Before that 1995 incident, Scott hadn’t thought about making documentaries. When he couldn’t shake the television image of the tank crashing into cars, he decided to try his hand at filmmaking and crafted the 2002 film, “Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story,” a bleak tale praised for its unorthodox style and insights into grass-roots attitudes about violence and war.
For his second documentary, Scott spent six weeks embedded with the 82nd Airborne Division fighting in Fallouja, Iraq, to make “Occupation: Dreamland.” The portrait of conflicted soldiers also received wide acclaim. Calling it an “excellent film,” The Times’ Kenneth Turan said it had “an intimate, personal quality” that reflected the filmmakers’ hard-earned bond with the soldiers.
When the 2005 film won the Truer Than Fiction Award at Saturday’s Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, his filmmaking partner, Ian Olds, dedicated it to Scott.
Scott, who lived in New York City, was visiting his family when he died March 2 of cardiac arrest while swimming in a public pool in Coronado, said his mother, Lynne. He was 37.
“Everybody who met him was struck by his unique and powerful mind,” said Olds, who edited both documentaries. “We talked about the idea of making films with a cold eye and a warm heart.”
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