Archive of films Son of Babylon / Son of Babylon

Iraq / United Kingdom / France / Netherlands / Palestine / United Arab Emirates / Egypt
2009, 90 min

Section: Special Events
Year: 2010

Soon after the fall of Hussein’s regime, 12-year-old Ahmed and his grandmother set out on a difficult journey. The old woman is looking for her son, Ahmed’s father, who disappeared in 1991. This simply told story, reminiscent of Iranian film traditions, was shown to appreciative audiences at Sundance and at the Berlinale where it took two awards.

Synopsis

Northern Iraq, 2003, soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Twelve-year-old Ahmed and his grandmother set out on a difficult journey to southern Iraq where prisoners of war and political prisoners have been released from incarceration. Ahmed’s father did not return from the Gulf War in 1991 and the old woman is convinced that she will find her son among them. On their journey from the mountains of Kurdistan to Babylon they meet people in similar (all too often dire) straits. The boy tries to understand his grandmother’s desire to find her son, and he faithfully follows her on a journey to meet the father he has never known. Ahmed wants to become a soldier, but perhaps this miserable journey will irreversibly change his mind.... The film authentically evokes the atmosphere of Iraq just after liberation. Narrated simply and discreetly, the story recalls Iranian film traditions and has been shot with sensitivity for the deep sorrow stemming from atrocities committed by Hussein’s regime. The movie was shown to appreciative audiences at Sundance and Berlin.

About the director

Mohamed Al-Daradji (b. 1978, Baghdad), screenwriter and director, graduated in theater direction in Baghdad. Later he studied film and television production in the Netherlands, and there he worked as a cameraman on documentaries and television news reports. He then continued his studies in camerawork and direction at the Northern Film School in Leeds, where he garnered the prestigious Kodak Student Award. After the collapse of Saddam’s regime he returned to Iraq to shoot his first feature Ahlaam (2005). Portraying three decades of dictatorship, the film was screened at more than 125 festivals (including Karlovy Vary) and took more than 20 awards. His next film, Son of Babylon (2009), screened at Sundance and took two awards at the Berlinale: the Amnesty International Prize and the Peace Film Award. Al-Daradji has finished work on the feature length documentary Iraq: War, Love, God and Madness.

Contacts

Roissy Films
58, rue Pierre Charron, 75008, Paris
France
Tel: +33 153 535 050
Fax: +33 142 892 693
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.roissyfilms.com

Human Film
ADP House, 35 Hanover Square, LS3 1BQ, Leeds
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 113 243 8880
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.humanfilm.co.uk

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Special Events

Director:	Mohamed Al-Daradji
Screenplay:	Jennifer Norridge, Mohamed Al-Daradji, Mithal Ghazi
Dir. of Photography:	Mohamed Al-Daradji, Duraid Al-Munajim
Music:	Kad Achouri
Editor:	Pascale Chavance, Mohamed Jbara
Producer:	Isabelle Stead, Atia Al-Daradji, Mohamed Al-Daradji, Dimitri de Clercq
Production:	Human Film
Cast:	Yasser Taleeb, Shehzad Hussein, Bashir Al-Majid
Contact:	Roissy Films, Human Film

www:	www.humanfilm.co.uk

Guests

Mohamed Al-Daradji

Film Director, Film Director

Isabelle Jayne Stead

Producer