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Cinema of Iraq

Cinema of Iraq
No. of screens300 (before 2003)

The cinema of Iraq developed under Saddam Hussein's regime. However, it went through a downturn as a result of the Gulf War and 2003–2011 war. The development of film and film-going in Iraq reflects the drastic historical shifts that Iraq has experienced in the 20th century. The Iraq War which began in 2003 had an influence on many films being produced.

History

While Iraq's first film projection took place in 1909, cinema was not truly regarded as a cultural activity or pastime until the 1920s. The first cinemas, like the famous al-Zawra'a Cinema on Baghdad's bustling thoroughfare al-Rasheed Street, played mostly American silent films for British citizens.[1]

In the 1940s under the rule of King Faisal II of Iraq, a real Iraqi cinema began. Supported by British and French financiers, movie production companies established themselves in Baghdad. The Baghdad Studio was established in 1948, but soon came apart when tensions between the Arab and Jewish founders flared up. For the most part, the product was purely commercial, fluffy romances with plenty of singing and dancing often set in small villages.[1] The World of Arts (Dunyat Alfann) studio, which was founded by actors, reached for more serious fare. In 1955, they produced Haidar Al-Omar's Fitna wa Hassan, an Iraqi retelling of Romeo and Juliet, that received international attention. But for the most part, the strong-fist rule of the state discouraged any socially relevant films.

In 1959 when King Faisel II's government was overthrown, the Cinema and Theater General organization came into existence with the purpose of promoting the political goals of the new regime both in documentaries and features.[1] Typical were documentaries like the 1969 Al Maghishi Project, which showcased the government's irrigation campaigns and the 1967 A Wedding in Heaven, which celebrates the air force and their weapons system.

Ba'ath Party rule

The 1968 revolution that put the Ba'ath party in power further solidified the government's control of film material, and the state's need to make all films validate its power.


During this stage, the Iraqi government, represented by the "General Organization for Cinema and Theater", produced many important films.

Saddam Hussein's ascension to power in 1979 pushed the Iraqi cinema in a slightly different direction. The drain on national resources from the 1980 Iran–Iraq War brought film production to a near halt. The few films put into production were mainly intent on glorifying a mythic Iraqi history or celebrating Hussein's rule. In 1981, the government commissioned Egyptian filmmaker Salah Abouseif to make Al-Qadisiya, a period epic recounting the triumph of the Arabs over the Persians in 636 AD. Likewise Mohamed Shukri Jameel's melodramatic The Great Question (al-Mas' Ala Al-Kubra) cast British actor Oliver Reed as the vicious Lt-Col Gerard Leachman who is righteously killed in the 1920 Iraqi revolution.

In 1980 Hussein promoted his own mythology with the autobiographical 6-hour epic The Long Days (al-Ayyam al-tawila), the saga of Hussein's participation in the 1958 failed assassination attempt on Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim, and his subsequent heroic escape back to Tikrit.[1] The film was edited and partially directed by Terence Young, the British director who made his name helming the early James Bond films Dr. No and Thunderball (film). Hussein is played by Saddam Kamel, a cousin and son-in-law of Hussein's, who eventually ran afoul of the leader and was murdered in 1996.

Prior to 1991, there were nearly 300 cinemas in Iraq.[2] After Iraq started attacks against Kuwait, sanctions against Iraq and later the 2003 invasion made filmmaking an impossibility in the country, although a new generation of filmmakers is coming alive in Baghdad.[3][4] Among the few films produced by Iraq during that period was the 1993 film " King Ghazi ", written and scripted by Moaz Yousef , and directed by Mohammed Shukri Jamil . The film dealt with the biography of King Ghazi, who ruled Iraq in the 1930s.

2003 to present

The Iraqi Independent Film Center was established in 2003.[2] In 2014 the Ministry of Culture allocated millions of dollars to fund film production, but as of 2021, only one film project has been supported.[2]

Notable Iraqi Actors

Notable Iraqi Film directors

The Iraqi director Abbas Fahdel on the set of Dawn of the World

Films

Main article: List of Iraqi films

Films shot in Iraq

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d de Souza, Noël (2021-09-23). "The Ongoing Struggle of Iraqi Cinema". Golden Globes. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  2. ^ a b c jburkepmc (2021-09-23). "The Ongoing Struggle of Iraqi Cinema". Golden Globes. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  3. ^ Tarzi, Nazli (June 18, 2015). "The rebirth of Iraqi cinema". Open Democracy. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Battaglia, Laura Silvia (2021-07-13). "A New Generation Is Remaking Iraqi Cinema". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2024-11-20.

Further reading
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