In his documentary "Land of Confusion," Iraq War veteran Jeremy Zerechak recounts his Pennsylvania National Guard unit's experiences during its yearlong search for weapons of mass destruction.

"We really did get an insider's perspective on the war," said Zerechak, director and writer of the documentary that shows Wednesday at the Harris Theater, Downtown. Zerechak will be on hand for a question-and-answer session after the screening.

"Land of Confusion," produced from almost 60 hours of footage filmed over 12 months starting in March 2004, won the Special Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival this year.

Zerechak joined the Army National Guard to pay for college after graduating in 1998 from Valley View High School near Scranton. After two years as a film student at Penn State, his unit was activated and deployed to Iraq. For the next year, Zerechak documented his platoon's mission to find WMDs.

As they covered ground from the center of Baghdad to remote farms, he interviewed Iraqis who openly expressed their opinions about the old and new regimes.

Experts on the team tested for the remains of biological or chemical warfare. The results were 100 percent negative, making it clear to Zerechak that the administration's reasons for going into Iraq were "dubious and less than benevolent."

As the team returned empty-handed repeatedly, a feeling that the mission was "a giant waste of time and we have nothing to show for it" prevailed.

"But the one thing we accomplished was that we did find the truth. There were no weapons of mass destruction. The mission needed to be done."

Zerechak, now of Cranston, Luzerne County, managed to get footage for his film by maintaining a low profile.

"At one point I resorted to making a stand [for his camera] from Popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun," he said.

He kept his tapes in a lockbox in the barracks. When he returned home on leave, Zerechak said 20 tapes were allowed past security.

"We had to dump out our bags and so the tapes were lying right there. But luckily they were looking for war trophies, not tapes."

While supporters and critics of the war could cite this film in their arguments, each side also might be blown away by the harsh realities confronted by men on the ground.

Zerechak, 28, who graduated from Penn State in 2006, was inspired to study film by his introduction to film professor.

"He opened up a door to me. I realized you could spend your whole life doing it and never really master it," said Zerechak, who is now working on a film project on the culture surrounding United States and Mexico border towns.

With "Land of Confusion" co-producer Corey Peterson, he recently signed a deal for DVD and broadcast distribution of the documentary. It will be available on Netflix and through other distributors in October.

Looking back at his experiences and the coverage he saw back home, Zerechak expressed distrust of the national media. "News now is sexy and sensationalized. It's not about information anymore."

He said the public deserves a better understanding of the war, and his film attempts to give a sincere account from the men on the ground.

"I got a lot of worldly experiences from going to Iraq," Zerechak said. "For the most part, the United States' citizens don't know how good they have it."

While the film has some colorful language, it is not overly traumatic to watch. A recent screening in Scranton had an audience with Iraq and Vietnam veterans, and a Gold Star Mother (a mother who lost one or more sons to the war).

"If she could watch it, I think anybody could," he said.