Iraq and Iran get closer through online video
It is so easy to forget the human stories behind the daily news headlines. BoingBoing has pointed to a couple of great films appearing this week. One from the BBC sees Rageh Omaar, who after a year of wrangling got to film freely inside Iran, and which shows a world a million miles away from the normal footage of angry people protesting. The other, more disturbing yet similarly touching series is Hometown Bagdhad, a new vodcast syndicated to Salon from some Iraqi filmmakers and Chat the Planet. Both focus on indefatigably human and likable people, and watching them online really hammered home that it's only geography and fate that stops these people from being next door neighbors, colleagues or friends.
Hometown Iraq - The Dentist
Hometown Iraq - Forbidden Salad
Hometown Iraq - "Brains on campus"
Hometown Baghdad
A documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.
The Distribution
The brave Iraqi subjects and
crew risked their lives every time they turned on a camera to make this
series. They want to show the world what life is like when your
hometown is a war-zone. We believe that people who see their stories
will want to share them with others. That's why we're distributing the
series online. So please - watch the videos, rewatch them, tell friends
about them, comment on them, and link to them.
The Language
The intention of the Iraqi filmmakers and subjects was to show the
world what Baghdad is truly like. That's why they usually speak English
and not Arabic.
The Producers
It is a co-production between NY-based Chat the Planet
and a group of Iraqi filmmakers in Baghdad. The subjects also turned
the cameras on themselves when it became too dangerous for our crew to
travel through Baghdad.
Ragah in Iran
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It took a year of
wrangling to get permission to film inside Iran but the result is an
amazing portrayal of an energetic and vibrant country that is
completely different to the usual images seen in the media.
A country of contrasts
Rageh soon discovers that Tehran is a complex place and
uncovers a city of extremes of wealth and poverty, where some people
survive on less than a dollar a day and others shop till they drop in
glitzy shopping malls.
Iran is a country that bans women from riding motorcycles but
where 60 per cent of the student population is female. It is also a
youthful place, with two thirds of Iran's 70 million population under
the age of 30.
Local stories
Rageh meets with local people to hear their personal stories
and feelings about the current state of affairs in Iran. There are
stories of taxi drivers, wrestlers, business women, people working with
drug addicts and the country's leading pop star and his manager - the
'Simon Cowell' of Iran.
Rageh Inside Iran transcends images of angry demonstrations
and burning flags to reveal a country that isn't without its problems
but which is also fascinating, dynamic and hospitable.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/misc/ragehinsideiran.shtml