Sunday, October 1 at 11:00am | The Main Cinema
About Baghdad on Fire
Dir. Karrar Al-Azzawi | 2023 | Iraq, Norway | Arabic with English subtitles | 65 min
Nineteen-year-old Tiba and her friends are hopeful; they are fighting for democracy in Iraq. On the forefront of the biggest youth movement in the 20 years since the US invaded the country and deposed Saddam Hussein, Tiba and her friends Khader and Yousif form a medical team that stitches and patches wounded protestors. Tired of militias, corrupt politicians, and foreign troops defining the country, these young activists spend days and nights in tents in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where they discuss plans on how to bring freedom, democracy, and change to Iraq. Baghdad on Fire is an energetic account from inside the demonstrations of Iraqi youth movements. The film depicts a story full of hope, faith, courage, and joy, while also capturing loss and disappointment.
Director’s Bio
Karrar Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi filmmaker who lives in Norway. He is a BFA student at the TV School, Innland Norway University of Applied Sciences, in Lillehammer, graduating in film directing in spring 2023. He works as an independent film director as well as working at Integral Film. His vision is to contribute to changing the world by fostering greater understanding and solidarity between people. Baghdad on Fire is Al-Azzawi's international debut feature film. His next project is the documentary Dreaming Souls, a film that tells the story of two girls with Down Syndrome, one from Iraq and one from Norway.
Presented by Mizna
Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than twenty years, we have been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.