Based on true stories, Ahlaam follows the fate of three Iraqi citizens that find themselves trapped inside the bombed ruins of a Baghdad Psychiatric Asylum on the night US forces start their ’shock and awe’ campaign to “liberate” Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s totalitarian regime.

Ahlaam is Iraq’s first feature film from the post-Saddam era to hit the small screen on DVD in the UK. Al-Daradji’s debut feature was filmed under highly unstable conditions, with cast and crew being exposed to shooting, imprisonment, kidnapping and torture at the hands of insurgents and coalition forces.

The film went on to play at over 85 International Film Festivals, has won over 20 awards to date, including the Index on Censorship Film Award 2008 and represented Iraq for Oscar and Golden Globe consideration 2007.

Directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji
110 mins
2006

Tags for this entry: Documentary, Iraq