Iraqi Odyssey (3D) – WIP
Bombings, declarations of war, demolished cities, people in poverty: News and images from Iraq depict a ruined country. How has it come this far? During the 1950s and 60s, Iraq was well on its way to becoming a progressive Arab state, and an air of confidence surrounded its people. Women wore stylish Western clothes, studied at university and were accompanied by men in elegant suits. The first high-rise buildings and public parks were built. Today, there is nothing left of that dream. Forty years of dictatorship, thirty years of war and the emigration of a large part of its middle class have taken a devastating toll. With the aid of his extended Iraqi family, now scattered across the globe, Swiss filmmaker Samir reflects in his own formally stringent way on the history of his homeland, and uses conversations with relatives and extensive archive footage to revive an Iraq that we never knew existed.
Initially announced as participating in the International Documentary Film competition section, Samir's IRAQI ODYSSEY (3D, CH 2014) will now screen out-of-competition as a work-in-progress in the "Special Screenings" section.
http://zff.com/en/festival-info/news/2014/833/iraqi-odyssey-special/
- Genre: DOC: History & Politics
- Country, Year: Switzerland, Germany, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, 2014
- Runtime: 162 Min
- Languages: Arabic, English, German, Russian
- Subtitles: English, German
- Director: Samir
- Cast: Samira Jamal Aldin, Sabah Jamal Aldin, Souhair Riadh Ahmed, Jamal Al Tahir, Tanya Uldin, Samir
- Screenplay: Samir
- Cinematography: Lukas Strebel, Pierre Mennel, Yuri Burak, John Kelleran, Kirill Gerra, Samir
- Editors: Sophie Brunner, Ali Alfatlawi, Wathiq Al Ameri, Samir
- Sound: Reto Stamm, Al Seconi, Martin Wilson, Don Feigel, Roman Platanov, Maxim Malin
- Music: Maciej Sledziecki
- Producer: Werner Schweizer
- Co-Producer: Herbert Schwering
- Executive Producer: Joël Jent
- Production Company: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion
- World Sales: Autlook Filmsales GmbH
- Swiss Distribution: Look Now! Filmverleih
