Latest Editions

Iraqi film festival

Audio: Play | Download

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Some Iraqi film-makers have decided to use the visible scars of violence as a backdrop for a film festival. Screenings are being held on the very sites of some of the deadliest bombings to hit Baghdad in recent months. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with one of the organizers, Husam Al Shara.

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN: Sadly, the people of Iraq are used to the kind of violence that Pakistan saw today.  This year, we’ve heard that the level of violence in Iraq is down, but that doesn’t mean the bombings have stopped.  And the scars left by those attacks are all over the capital, Baghdad.

Some Iraqi film-makers have decided to make a statement, using the visible scars of violence as a backdrop for a film festival.   Screenings are being held on the very sites of some of the deadliest bombings to hit Baghdad in recent months.  Husam Al Shara is one of the organizers of the festival.

HUSAM AL SHARA: [speaking Pashto] From these places that have been attacked by terrorists, we want to send a message that in Iraq culture, civilization and cinema are still alive. This is a chance to remind people what happened here.

WERMAN: And what happened was devastating.  One location for film screenings is beneath the bombed facade of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.  Less than four months ago, two truck bombs ripped through the building and the nearby Finance Ministry.  Ninety-five people were killed.  This week, Baghdad residents gathered in that same place to watch a comedy called “Taqweem Shakhasi,” which translates as “Personal Calendar.”  The film pokes fun at Iraqis unable to remember the days of the week as they try to cope with the confusion brought on by war.  Movie-going was fashionable among Iraqis before the war.  There were 60 working film theaters in Iraq then.  Today, only five of those theaters are still going.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.