Baghdad or Bust

The Mystery of the Warrior Queens of Assyria

2024 · ★ 7

In northern Iraq lie the ruins of a 3,000-year-old city, Nimrud, once the capital of the powerful Assyrian Empire. In 1988, archaeologists conducted excavations beneath one of the palaces and uncovered a vaulted room filled with bronze cups, lamps, and ceramic jars, which led to an untouched chamber laden with precious objects. A stone sarcophagus, still intact, contained an impressive amount of jewelry: the treasures of this burial site surpassed those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. The bodies of two women, placed one on top of the other, were also exhumed. Presumably of high rank, who were they?

Live from Baghdad

2002 · ★ 6.7

A group of CNN reporters venture to the Iraqi capital to cover the Gulf War.

1979: Big Bang of the Present

2019 · ★ 6

Deng Xiaoping's economic and political opening in China. Margaret Thatcher's extreme economic measures in the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran. Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland. Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The nuclear accident at the Harrisburg power plant and the birth of ecological activism. The year 1979, the beginning of the future.

Iraq in Fragments

2006 · ★ 6.6

An opus in three parts, Iraq In Fragments offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied. American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

Song of God

2019 · ★ 8

When an Iranian-Canadian filmmaker hears the story of Master Ghadamyar- a Kurdish 120-year-old Tanbur player, he takes off on a mission to discover more about this spiritual master's musical and enchanting life. The film follows his journey to Western Iran, where he unearths the ancient traditions and teachings of Ghadamyar's faith known as Yarsanism, and its relationship to the mysterious Tanbur as a meditative instrument. The film takes audiences on a musical and visual quest among rugged landscapes of Western Iran to experience undiscovered voices and spiritual awakening. We witness the collective prayer of Yarsani Tanburists, as a practice to maintain their spiritual identity and search for inner beauty.

Sisters Apart

2021 · ★ 6

Rojda, a native of Iraqi Kurdistan and a soldier in the German army, travels to a refugee camp in Greece where she manages to meet her mother, who has bad news about her sister Dilan.

Accidental Anarchist

2017 · ★ 6.7

Carne Ross was a government highflyer. A career diplomat who believed Western Democracy could save us all. But working inside the system he came to see its failures, deceits and ulterior motives. He felt at first hand the corruption of power. After the Iraq war Carne became disillusioned, quit his job and started searching for answers.

The Baghdadi Collector

2026

During a routine visit to Grandpa, who has lived in the same small, cramped, and neglected apartment for 54 years, Grandpa declared emphatically - "I will never move!" Grandpa suffers from compulsive hoarding, which is rooted in the displacement of his family from their home in Baghdad, Iraq, without names, possessions, or dates of birth. A year passes, Grandpa's health changes, and suddenly - there is no choice but to move him to a new apartment with an elevator.

Green Days

2009 · ★ 6

A playwright Iran tries to confront a creative crisis while political clashes erupt during her country's 2009 election.

Uncle Pumble

2018

The story is about a doll named Amo Pumble who teaches children how to live in society by reading a magic book to children.

Slowly Forgetting Your Faces

2021 · ★ 10

Two men, the hint of a sofa corner and a pile of letters. Using minimalist means, the film tells the story of two brothers caught between exile in a foreign country and resistance in the underground. It takes us back to the time when the revolution seized power in Iran and tells of life between the fronts. Daniel Asadi Faezi sketches the story of his father and his brothers - based on correspondence that has lain in the cellar for 30 years.

Invisible Alliance

A Hezbollah suicide bomber breaks silence to reveal the inner workings of the organization and his involvement in a narcotrafficking alliance with the FARC. Discover the hidden agendas between Iran, Latin American governments and organized crime.