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[Video] Iraqi Cinema Tells True Stories of War from a Child's Perspective

Director Mohamed Al-Daradji captures the realities of childhood in Baghdad.
From War Canister, (2012). All screencaps via Human Film

In the films of Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji, we see a landscape rife from war and follow the poetic movements of young children: boys playing soccer in back alleys, girls jumping rope, boys throwing rocks into the Tigris River. Their actions, in poingnant cinematic frames, are outwardly simple yet profoundly important as their tales weave in and out of loss and death. The theme of war is all-consuming but through Al-Daradji's short and feature films, his child protagonists lead us through a colorful Baghdad—one that is still very much full of life.

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We've collected a few of our favorite frames below. Learn more about Al-Daradji and the growth of Iraqi cinema in the first episode of The Creators Project's Art World series, A New Wave of Iraqi Cinema, below:

Nesma's Birds, (2012):

Happy Birthday (2012)

Children of God (2012)

Son of Babylon (2012)

Iraq: War, Love, God, & Maddness (2008)

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