‘War, Love, God & Madness’ Premieres in Competition at Tribeca International Film Festival (18/04/2008)
The highly anticipated feature documentary War, Love, God & Madness supported by the Screen Yorkshire Production Fund is ‘the film behind the film’ from acclaimed Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Al-Daradji, as he leads us on his disturbing journey inside Baghdad where fiction and reality blur in the gritty aftermath of 25 years of dictatorship, 3 wars and occupation - as never seen before.
In 2004, undaunted by the volatile political, military dangers and heartbreaking chaos, Al-Daradji returned to his home, Baghdad. Stumbling upon the once vibrant streets now consumed by unemployment, hunger, poverty and madness, he set forth to make his debut film ‘Ahlaam'.
Struggling against time, persecution, imprisonment, injuries, terrorist attacks and the American army, Al-Daradji is determined to finish the film, even after facing execution by the banks of the Tigris River. ‘Ahlaam', went on to premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, screening furthermore at 80 International film festivals, receiving 18 awards and representing Iraq for Oscar and Golden Globe Consideration in 2007.
Iraqi/Dutch filmmaker Al-Daradji worked closely with British editor Danny Evans to piece together the fragmented jigsaw of his experiences of filming in a war zone in the hope of finding his sanity and as an mouthpiece for the true Iraqi story behind the occupation, one that the media has failed to portray.
The film is supported by Screen Yorkshire's Production Fund and the Goteborg Film Festival Fund and premieres on the 25th April at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan, which runs from 23rd April - 4th May.
