Date:
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Time:
07:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Location:
Tsai Auditorium, CGIS North, 1730 Cambridge Street
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(click to watch trailer)
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Contemporary Iraqi Film
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A series of films made by Iraqis since 2003
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April 17th 18th and 19th
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7pm
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@the Centre for Government and International Studies (CGIS)
TSAI AUDITORIUM, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA 02138
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information:
For the first time, in this event, winning entries from the First International Iraq Short Film Festival (Baghdad, 2005) will be shown in America alongside other new Iraqi films, as Harvard University presents a groundbreaking series, celebrating the rebirth of Iraqi film. All have been made in Iraq since 2003, and offer a fascinating and moving glimpse into a world of horror and, at times, humor, as normal life attempts to pick its way through the chaos of war.
The films will be introduced by poet, novelist and filmmaker Sinan Antoon (PhD Harvard), whose film, About Baghdad, will open the event.
Each screening will be followed by a frank and open discussion of the issues raised by the film, in which the audience will help to shape and color the event itself, as well as the avenues for enquiry that are opened by it. Any money donated by participants (attendance is free) will be donated to Rally for Iraq, a new charity that supports Iraqis pursuing higher education anywhere in the world (www.rallyforiraq.com). Refreshments will be served.
Program:
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April 17th:
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Opening address by filmmaker Sinan Antoon, followed by his film,
* About Baghdad (dir. Sinan Antoon, Bassam Haddad, Maya Mikdashi, Suzy Salamy, Adam Shapiro. Iraq, 2004. English and Arabic with English subtitles. 90 mins). In July of 2003, exiled writer and poet, Sinan Antoon, returned to his native Baghdad with a team of independent film makers, artists and activists to document the effects that decades of oppression, war, sanctions and occupation have had on the city. The result is a fascinating mosaic of opinions, perspectives, desires and memories that offers a picture far more complex than the limited one presented by mainstream media. About Baghdad plays tributes to the people of Baghdad as they struggle to come to terms with the tragic fate of their beloved city.
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April 18th:
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* Some of the Facts – Documentaries from the Iraq Short Film Festival. Which includes the two joint winners of the 'Best Documentary Award': Damned Gum (dir. Ammar Saad, 29 mins), a young journalist's view of a city whose colours fade after his partner is killed; The Office of Security (dir. Hadi Mahood, 22 mins), Saddam's authorities tortured people in the Office of Security. After the authorities are defeated, the office closes. But for its new inhabitants, the people the war made homeless, a different sort of torture continues, and Film About Cilema (dir. Uday Salah, 30 mins), the story of Iraqi cinema (which Iraqis mispronounce as 'cilema') and of Iraq's first film festival told through the eyes of two young Iraqi film-makers.
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April 19th
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* Dreams of Sparrows (dir. Haydar Daffar. Iraq, 2006. Arabic with English subtitles. 70 mins). For two years, a motley crew of cameramen, friends, and 'associate producers' travelled the Iraqi streets, documenting how dreams of liberation become nightmares of occupation with raw immediacy. Some of the footage is captured on cameras borrowed by director Haydar Daffar from foreign journalists staying at the Baghdad hotel in which he worked.
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The final showing will be followed by a musical performance on the Oud, a traditional Iraqi instrument and father to the European lute and guitar.
Copyright © 2007 The President and Fellows of Harvard College