In looking beyond the particular histories and sensitivities of Iraq's different communities, Iraqi filmmaker Layth Abdulamir examines the common roots of this often misunderstood country. His camera captures the cultural, social and historical heritage of men and women who wove the fabric of a nation... Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Shiites, Sunnites and Christians from villages and cities. This voyage takes you from the southern limits to the northern borders of the country, a juxtaposition of words and ideas, a total immersion into the social and geopolitical landscape of Iraq... a close-up of a particular identity that once prospered, then suffered and finally ended when the Coalition's tanks arrived, rumbling arrogantly into what was once a Garden of Eden. Perhaps these Iraqi voices are simply an echo of a thousand-year-old culture... Or perhaps they are the prophesies of a new national identity.

Screenplay Layth Abdulamir
Photography (colour) Ammar Saad
Editing Lysien Le Mercies
Music Mohammed Gomar
Sound Jean Christophe Caron
Production Yves Billon
Year of production 2005
Running time 55’
Format DV Cam

Layth Abdulamir

Born in 1957 in Irak, Layth Abdulamir is french citizen. He attended Cinema Studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris (1977-1980) and film direction in Kiev (1981-1986), graduating in Master of Arts. He worked at the Davtechenko Studio in Kiev as assistant director. Between 2001 and 2002 he made a stage at the Dubai TV. He made his directorial debut in 1982 directing short films. He made various feature films and documentaries for the French television and the Dubai TV. Beside that, he works as script writer and actor. His feature film The Cradle (1985) was awarded with the Grand Prize at the Festival of Damascus and the Spectators Prize at the Festival of Kiev in 1986.