SYDNEY ARAB FILM FESTIVAL

In July of 2003, exiled writer and poet Sinan Antoon returned to his native Baghdad with a team of independent filmmakers, artists and poets to document the effects that decades of oppression, war, sanctions and occupation have had on his city. The result is a fascinating mosaic of opinions, perspectives, desires and memories that offers a picture far more complex than the limited one presented by mainstream US media. The film pays tribute to the brave people of Baghdad as they struggle to come to terms with the tragic fate of their beloved city.
About Baghdad was spearheaded by Iraqi-American writer Sinan Antoon, who explains in the film that his intention was to return to his homeland that he left in ‘91, when his country was “”a big prison.”” He comes to talk to Iraqis to hear what they think of the situation imposed on them, and finds that there is a plurality of opinion regarding the war and its justifications, and it seems that he, as well as the Iraqis his crew films, feel a need to relocate their sense of national identity.