The awards, better known as the Oscars, are amongst the most prestigious awards a film can win and Son of Babylon’s backing, by Iraq’s Ministry of Culture, goes some of the way to show how the power of cinema can bring pride and unity to a troubled country. If nominated, Son of Babylon will be the first Iraqi film to be in the running for this award, and as a low budget feature film, this is a historic feat for the film and filmmakers.

Based on true events and the repercussions of living under Saddam’s tyranny, this film seeks to help heal the wounds of Iraq and aid the country on its quest to unity and reconciliation of the past, allowing the country to move forward towards a brighter future. The film’s humanitarian content has globally impacted audiences, critics and juries alike, picking up the Peace Award and the Amnesty International Film award at Berlin IFF this year. The film has been critically acclaimed for it’s visual aesthetics, collecting the Artistic Achievement award at Cinema City (Serbia), and received a special mention at Edinburgh IFF in June. Whilst the director Mohamed Al-Daradji was honoured with an Emerging Master spotlight this year at Seattle IFF and Cinema City IFF.

Son of Babylon was catapulted into the international spotlight during it’s North American premiere at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival 2010; the festival’s Sundance Institute was the first to spot the potential in the film and it’s makers from a very early stage, getting involved with the project in development. Now with the prospect of inclusion in the Academy Awards, the filmmakers will realise their dreams to revive Iraq’s fledgling cultural legacy, as well as being recognised for the highly creative and artistic merit of the film.

Alongside the film, the charity IRAQ’S MISSING CAMPAIGN (IMC) is being launched and hopes to find answers as to the whereabouts of those missing loved ones since Saddam’s regime. The campaign, which reflects the reality of the film’s central theme, is gathering momentum and hopes to bring international recognition and aid to the identification of bodies unearthed in Iraq’s mass graves. Son of Babylon’s selection for a potential nomination of an Academy Award would mean the human rights atrocities that the film and campaign speak out about, could be propelled into the international spotlight creating awareness alongside the film, allowing significant steps to be made towards the rebuilding of Iraq.

Son of Babylon is the second film by the director and shows a mature and artistic progression in his vision and storytelling from festival favorite Ahlaam; Al-Daradji’s debut feature. His most recently completed documentary Iraq: War, Love, God & Madness is set to hit the festival circuit later this year.  The cultural impact on Iraq cannot be underestimated and with Son of Babylon being such a visual masterpiece, as well as a compelling human story, it is a well-deserved recognition, which the Academy Award voters cannot deny has all the elements an Oscar winning film should have.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:-

For information on the film or filmmakers, press, EPK, marketing and interview opportunities please contact Human Film | Office +44 113 243 8880 | cecily@humanfilm.co.uk

Ahlaam: screened at over 125 international film festivals and received more than 22 Awards also represented Iraq for Oscar and Golden Globe consideration in 2007.

Son of Babylon has succeeded in creating a bridge of unity between the West and the Middle East, through the shared vision of Human Film (UK/NL), Iraq Al-Rafidain (IRAQ), Crm-114 (FRANCE), Cinema Production Centre (Palestine), Sundance Institute (US), UK Film Council, Screen Yorkshire, UK Trade & Investment (UK), Fond Sud & CNC (France), Hivos, Doen, Nederlands Fonds voor de Film and Rotterdam Media Fonds (Netherlands), Royal Film Commission (Jordan), Sunnyland Film ART, Mawred Fund (Egypt), Pyramedia and ADACH (UAE), world sales with Roissy Films, Paris.

Iraq: War, Love, God & Madness is an 82 minute film looking at the harrowing, perilous living conditions in post-invasion Baghdad. Caught between local militias, foreign fighters and suspicious American forces, Mohamed Al-Daradji and his motley crew of volunteers face immense danger and huge hurdles as they try to make art in a war  zone. I would welcome the opportunity to send you a copy of the film for possible consideration.

IMC: The Iraq’s Missing Campaign was established in 2010 to provide direct practical relief and support to the relatives of missing and disappeared persons in Iraq and is founded by Isabelle Stead (Producer), Mohamed Al-Daradji (Director) and Atia Al-Daradji (Producer) http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/iraqs-missing-campaign www.iraqsmissing.org

Published: Yorkshire Evening Post
By Charles Heslett

Son of Babylon, by Woodhouse-based Human Films, has been chosen to appear at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival.

A film with Made in Leeds stamped across it will be screened at one of the most prestigious festivals in the world.Son of Babylon, by Woodhouse-based Human Films, has been chosen to appear at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival.

In January director Mohamed Al-Daradji, producer Isabelle Stead from Pudsey and scriptwriter Jenny Norridge from Garforth will jet off to
Salt Lake City for the 26th festival founded by the Hollywood legend.

Mohamed, originally from Iraq and who now splits his time between Baghdad and Leeds, spent six months filming in his homeland finishing earlier this year.

The film is set in 2003 and follows an Iraqi grandmother Um-Ibrahim (played by Shehzad Hussen) as she tries to find her soldier son who has been missing since the first Gulf War in 1991. She takes along her 12-year-old grandson Ahmed (Yassir Talib) and their journey from the mountains of the north to the southern sands reveals the hidden horrors of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The 32-year-old director said: “The idea came from my auntie.”She lost her son in the war between Iraq and Iran. When I was child we used to come together as a family for a happy occasion but she would start crying about Ali.” They never found his body.

“In 2003 after the fall of Saddam I was working in Baghdad and I heard on the new that they’d discovered a mass grave in the city. I froze during the news report. I remembered my auntie and her crying.”I never understood how she was feeling but I thought there was a film to be made about a mother looking for her son who has been missing for so long.

“More than one million people went missing during Saddam Hussein’s regime so it is a story many people will relate to. “The film was shot using a mix of British, French and Iraqi crew and non-professional actors.

It starts with reports of prisoners of war being found alive in the south, but the pair’s journey then moves to Babylon where a mass grave is unearthed. Mohamed said: “I wanted a realistic feel and I hope when the Iraqi audience gets to watch it they will forget it’s a film and think they’re watching their life. “I suppose it’s a road movie about a mother’s quest to find her son. It is about looking to the future but also to learn from the past and to move on.”

Human Films was set up by three Leeds Metropolitan University film graduates – Mohamed, Isabelle and Danny Evans, 26, from Morley. Isabelle, 30, said: “Sundance is one of the top festivals in America. The film being picked will drum up publicity and hopefully grab the attention of distributors in north America as we already have an eastern distribution deal.”

‘SON OF BABYLON’, selected to screen in competition in the World Cinema section at the Sundance Film Festival, is important news for Iraq and comes at a crucial point for the Iraqi nation who are facing the second federal elections since the occupation.

Remarkably, the filmmakers of ‘SON OF BABYLON’ have exposed to the world Iraq’s hidden horrors as Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Al-Daradji takes his audience on a journey through Iraq in 2003. Saddam Hussein has fallen and on hearing the news that prisoners of war have been found alive in the South, Ahmed, a young boy and his grandmother, Um-Ibrahim, set out to uncover the fate of the boy’s father, one of the many soldiers who never returned home after the 1991 Gulf War. From the mountains of the north to the southern sands of Babylon, as his grandmother struggles to accept an awful truth, Ahmed retraces the footsteps of a father he never knew.

“’Son of Babylon’, binds two generations; the older steeped in suffering; and the younger bearing hope for the future. By choosing to tell the story of a Kurdish mother, and not an Arab, I hope to find empathy between the two cultures that occupy Iraq. Both have been victims of the chaos and occupation that has engulfed this country, both have suffered, both have lost, and this story will help to unify our understanding.” AL-DARADJI

The film follows Mohamed Al-Daradji debut ‘AHLAAM’, a film that represented Iraq for the Oscar and Golden Globe Awards in 2007. A more mature feature from the Iraqi filmmaker, ‘SON OF BABYLON’ does not shy away from the social commentary of Iraq today, which is found throughout Al-DaradjI’s filmmaking.

The film has succeeded in creating a bridge of unity between the West and the Middle East, through the shared vision of Human Film (UK/NL), Iraq Al-Rafidain coming together to support one courageous filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

In conjunction with the film, Human Film & Iraq Al-Rafidain are launching a landmark campaign ‘IRAQ’S MISSING’. The Iraq Ministry of Human Rights estimate more than 1.5 million have gone missing over the last 40 years and estimate 500,000 bodies have been recovered from 300 mass graves so far. This number will grow as more mass graves are discovered, which is sure to overwhelm the limited resources that aid organisations in Iraq have. Human Film hopes the ’IRAQ’S MISSING’ campaign and ‘SON OF BABYLON’ will communicate the extent of the genocide and begin the redirection of resources dedicated to the identification of the bodies. The campaign is close to the hearts of the film-makers and one that inspired the journey portrayed in ’SON OF BABYLON’. Isabelle Stead, Producer, quotes, “I hope it will inspire a high-profile approach to human rights violations that will no longer go unnoticed by the world.”

On Friday Son of Babylon played to a packed house at the Emirates Palace for its World Premiere. The harrowing depiction of a woman and her grandson’s journey through war-torn Iraq provoked strong praise from audience members, mixed with sorrow over the troubled nation and its people. Director Mohamed Al-Daradji was on hand to discuss his amazing accomplishment in filming in both north and south Iraq with non-actors amid the constant challenge of resources and infrastructure. As recipient of a MEIFF Production Grant, Son of Babylon’s screening was a proud and inspirational moment for MEIFF, for Abu Dhabi, and for the future of filmmaking in the Middle East.

A young Leeds feature film production company discovered how UK Trade & Investment and Yorkshire Forward could help them become serious contenders in the competitive world of international film making.

Human Film has just received the award for Best New Export Initiative/Project Award at the Going Global 2009 Awards Ceremony, organized by Yorkshire Forward and UK Trade & Investment in recognition of successfully hosting film workshops in Kurdistan and Iraq to train local Iraqi people, whilst filming feature film “Son of Babylon”. This combined effort has not only enabled locals to develop their filmmaking skills, but also raised the profile of Human Film as one of the few Western production companies to work in this region, giving them the 1st movers advantage.

Established just two years ago, Human Film is dedicated to making cutting- edge films with a conscience to break down complex international social issues to audiences worldwide. Isabelle Stead, company director says “This is a great boost for us to continue in our efforts to raise the profile of Human Film internationally.” 

Organised by Yorkshire Forward and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the Going Global Awards are designed to recognise regional companies that are growing their business through international trade. Six regional companies took home awards, whittled down from over 70 entries from across the region.

Human Film’s first film ‘Ahlaam’ (Dreams) shot in Iraq, with their sister company Iraq Al-Rafidain was set among the bombed ruins of a psychiatric facility has screened internationally at over 100 film festivals, won 20 awards and represented Iraq for Oscar and Golden Globe Consideration in 2007. With the support of UKTI advisors Melanine Potts & Jo McBeath ‘Ahlaam’ has gone on to be released domestic and internationally in: the Middle East, USA, Spain, Austrailia and beyond.

If you require further information please contact Simon Glass, simon@humanfilm.co.uk or Isabelle Stead isabelle@humanfilm.co.uk

AHLAAM, the highly acclaimed feature film by Iraqi film director Mohamed Al-Daradji has been released on DVD by Dogwoof. The DVD release of AHLAAM marks a collaborative ground breaking achievement in filmmaking for both Iraq and the UK. Based on true stories, AHLAAM follows the fate of three Iraqi citizens that find themselves trapped inside the bombed ruins of a Baghdad Psychiatric Asylum on the night US forces start their campaign to “liberate” Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s totalitarian regime.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Theatrical Trailer | Trip of Dreams Documentary: The Fabulous Picture Show | Photo Gallery
RUNNING TIME: Main Feature 107 mins approx | Special Features 35mins approx
LANGUAGES: Arabic with English, French, Albanian, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles