Mohamed leads us on a voyeuristic journey inside Iraq as
fiction and reality blur in the gritty aftermath of 25 years of
dictatorship, 3 wars and the wake of three occupations. This
film is crucial to our understanding of a nation at war with
love, god and madness as we see the real Iraqi people and
their spirit to survive through the eyes of one young man
- as never seen before.
2007 Mohamed, a young and idealistic filmmaker, summons
the courage to look back over the last three years of his
turbulent life. He pieces together the jigsaw of his
experiences of filming in a war zone, hoping to find his
sanity.
In 2004, undaunted by the volatile political, military dangers
and heartbreaking chaos, Mohamed returns to his home,
Baghdad. Stumbling upon the once vibrant streets that are
now consumed by unemployment, hunger, poverty and |
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madness, he sets forth to make a film. Challenged physically
and emotionally by unimaginable circumstances with no
money, just hope, the camera rolls and the world unravels
around him; a young child sings for Saddam, a father
grieves for his hanged son, a poet reflecting back on his
time in prison, whilst a troubled friend is lost in his madness.
Struggling against time, persecution, imprisonment, injuries,
terrorist attacks and the American army, he is determined to
survive. Facing execution by the banks of the Tigris River,
Mohamed searches for the strength to overcome his bad
luck and dire situation in the hope of a miracle and peace.
This is Iraq's story, this is the people's story. |