Questions in a time of terrorism

Psychologist/filmmaker explores the ethics of interrogating suspects

''Interrogate This: Psychologists Take on Terror'' grew out of news reports concerning the interrogation of terrorism suspects. (Samuel C. Peterson/US navy/file 2006)

Among the harsh surprises of the war on terror was that American forces were using humiliating and sometimes brutal techniques to interrogate terrorism suspects. That was bad enough for Boston psychologist and filmmaker Maryanne Galvin. Then she heard that some in her own field might be involved.

"It really was my sense of outrage and astonishment at hearing the words 'torture' or 'enhanced interrogation' and the word 'American' in the same sentence, followed by 'maybe psychologists were involved,' " said Galvin. "That really sparked my desire to pursue this."

The actual role of psychologists in Jack Bauer-style interrogations - if any - was hard to nail down. But the questions raised were enough to fuel Galvin's new documentary, "Interrogate This: Psychologists Take on Terror," which screens Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Massachusetts Bar Association, 20 West St.

In a time of national peril, should psychologists help interrogators work more effectively? Or is it always wrong for them to participate in such interrogations? Galvin wanted to explore the questions journalistically rather than make a broadside. The film employs everything from a black-and-white 1950s drama about teenage vandalism to experts on both sides of this hot-button issue.

"I'm very fortunate that [the experts] were knowledgeable and articulate and willing to express their views. It made my job really easy," Galvin said. "Everyone who appears in my film was very well-informed on the issues and held strong positions. None of them were shy about expressing those positions."

Galvin is a veteran filmmaker on topics ranging from No. 9 Park chef Barbara Lynch ("Amuse Bouche: A Chef's Tale") to capital punishment ("Thanatos RX: The Death Penalty Debate in America"). She works as a designated forensic psychologist for the state Department of Mental Health, evaluating defendants in criminal cases, primarily in the Suffolk County courts.

As psychologists, she said, "We have ethics that guide our professional behavior, and we have a written standard that says we cannot engage in any behavior that would produce harm in the person we are treating or interacting with professionally. This was the standard people I interviewed were holding forth and saying, 'We need to examine everything [under] this standard.' "

It's a shadowy area, however. Galvin was not able to get necessary security clearances to talk to some psychologists who might have been directly involved. The only people she's seen named as participating in interrogations were not actually licensed psychologists, despite relevant training. She started researching the topic seriously in 2006 and finished editing the film this past August, just before a September premiere at a film festival in Dallas.

The Massachusetts Bar Association's free public showing on Tuesday will be followed by a panel discussion featuring attorney Sabin Willett, who has done pro bono legal work to obtain the release of three detainees from Guantanamo; Dr. Carrie Kennedy, a Navy psychologist formerly stationed at Guantanamo; Dr. Robert Kinscherff; and John P. Zanini, chief of the appellate division of the Suffolk County DA's Office.

The movie will also screen Dec. 14 at 4:30 p.m. at the Cape Ann Community Cinema, 267 E. Main St., Gloucester, with a similar discussion following. See www.massbar.org for details.

MORE "HOLIDAYS" CHEER TONIGHT: A November Local Action column about the Rhode Island-rooted indie comedy "Happy Holidays" brought an offer for a Boston screening, filmmaker James C. Ferguson reports. "Happy Holidays" will screen at Improv Boston tonight at 9. Tickets are $10 ($7 forstudents). The venue is at 40 Prospect St. in Central Square, Cambridge. Details: 617-576-1253 or www.improvboston.com/index.html. The movie site is www.happyholidaysthemovie.com.

FOUNDATION WORKSHOP FOR FILMMAKERS: The LEF New England foundation will hold a free workshop Wednesday for documentarians working in film and video who want to apply for LEF Moving Image Fund grants. LEF supports artists with a powerful idea and an original vision "whose work informs and animates the larger public conversation essential to a democracy." LEF provides multi-year funding to quality projects to see them through to completion. Documentaries will be the focus for the next several grant rounds. The event is 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at 93 Border St. in Newton, but you must RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/event/222655970.

SCREENINGS OF NOTE: The Divas in the Dark series at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, co-presented by Boston Lyric Opera, continues next Sunday at 11 a.m. with Ernst Lubitsch's 1934 goodie "The Merry Widow," starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald.