Iraqi filmmaker Daradji wins Variety magazine award

ABU DHABI / IraqiNews.com: Abu Dhabi Cinema Festival has announced that the Iraqi film director, Mohammed Al-Daradji, won the U.S. magazine Variety’s Middle East Director Award, presented to him in a special celebration in the Emirate’s Palace. Variety described Daradji as “the most active Cinematograph in the Region,” highly acclaiming his direction of the film Feature winner “Ahlaam”. Ahlaam, or Dreams, is one of the first full-length pics shot on the tumultuous streets of post-Saddam Baghdad, has already won a number of prizes including best picture at this year’s Bangladesh Film Festival, best Arabic film at 2005 Cairo International film festival and special jury prize in the Arabe du Monde Cinema in Paris 2006. The film highlights human rights abuses perpetrated by the Saddam regime by looking back at the tortured lives three Iraqis who’s paths cross during the US ‘shock and awe’ bombing of Baghdad in 2003. Daradji had lived in Baghdad, where he studied theatrical direction, worked as photographer in Holland, where he lived in 1995, before leaving it to the United Kingdom to study cinematography, where he directed a number of short and documentary films. Daradji had shot his film Ahlaam in Iraq, despite facing several difficulties and threats, including facing U.S. soldiers’ fire on his film-shooting scenes in 2003, the continued electric power cuts, as well as short-financing and security threats. He also presented his second long documentary film “Love, War, God and Madness,” that was screened in Rotterdam International Festival and other international festivals. Daradji arrived in Abu Dhabi this year, not only to receive his Variety Award as the first Middle Eastern director for this year, but also to present his current film project “In my Mother’s Arms”. SKH (I)/AmR 33