Iraqi Shorts + Iraqi Voices
+Q&A with Filmmakers
+Iraq / USA
Saturday, 10/1 at St. Anthony Theatre Main
1:00 p.m.
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IRAQI SHORTS from HUMAN FILM
Taste of Life
Medoo Ali
7 mins / 2014
narrative short / drama
Iraq / UK / Netherlands
Arabic with English subtitles
Minnesota premiere
DCP
In the aftermath of a tragedy, a grieving mother visits the site where her son was killed. There she remembers her young son’s spirit.
Medoo Ali was born in 1991. He studied at the Centre of Fine Arts in Baghdad and has worked on a number of Iraqi feature films, most notably with Mohamed Al Daradji on Son of Babylon, In My Mother’s Arms, and The Sands of Babylon, and with filmmaker Oday Rasheed.
Iraqi Superman
Sajjad Abbas
animated short / drama / war
6 mins / 2014
Iraq / UK / Netherlands
Arabic with English subtitles
Minnesota premiere
DCP
A tormented young man transforms himself into a superhero to rescue his father from Abu Ghraib prison. He discovers torture and mistreatment, but his ingenuity allows him to find his missing father.
Sajjad Abbas was born in Baghdad in 1993. In 2014, he received a diploma from the Institute of Fine Art, Baghdad, where he participated in many joint exhibitions. Abbas also worked on eight short films made by the Iraqi Independent Film Center and has completed two animated shorts. Abbas currently works as an animator for Spacetoon in Jordan.
Dark to Dark
Omid Khalid
narrative short / drama / marriage
7 mins / 2015
Iraq / UK / Netherlands
Arabic with English subtitles
Minnesota premiere
DCP
On the day of her wedding, a young girl hides from her family. The preparations and celebration, however, continue without her. The film depicts the conflict and anguish of women who face unwanted arranged marriages.
Omid Khalid was born in Baghdad. He studied cinema in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad. He also participated in a film workshop at UCLA. Omid now lives in Iraq and works for Iraq Al-Rafidain, a film production company based in Baghdad. He is also a board member for the Iraqi Independent Film Center.
IRAQI VOICES
Iraqi Voices is an ongoing collaborative mentorship program that gives Iraqis in Minnesota support and training to transform their stories into high-quality documentary video shorts. The films in this program were written and directed by Iraqi-American participants and photographed and edited by Nathan Fisher. Produced by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project and Northern Monday Films. This project is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropration from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The Actor
Adnan Shati
7 mins / 2015
Arabic with English subtitles
DCP
An Iraqi actor discusses the Friday demonstrations in Baghdad.
Stealth Pathogen
Nathan Fisher
with Adnan Shati, Dr. Azur Maluki, Ishaq Maluki
9 mins / 2015
Arabic with English subtitles
DCP
An Iraqi physician is in Minnesota on a one-year research fellowship while his colleagues are being systematically assassinated back home.
Iraq Darkly
Jamal Ali
15 mins / 2015
Arabic with English subtitles
DCP
A short film in three acts: Iraq Darkly presents multiple views of contemporary Iraq.
East by Midwest (work in progress)
Inam Alaseel
Jamal Ali
Amel Al-Sammarraie
Ali Alshammaa
Abduallah Falija
Nathan Fisher
Jamela Hasoon
Ghazwan Khalid
Salwa Mohaldeen
Mohammed Raif
Nadya Saleem
15 mins / 2016
Arabic with English subtitles
DCP
The new half-hour documentary in the Iraqi Voices series will work to dismantle caricatures of Muslims and Arabs in the United States. It shows Muslims praying at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, follows the Iraqi owners of a grocery story in St. Paul, and includes an interview with the first Muslim woman to win a state election in Minnesota. The completed film will premiere at the Landmark Center on October 29, 2016.
