Ahlaam gets Iraqi distribution, making of doc picked up for Tribeca Fest

"War, Love, God & Madness is Lost in La Mancha for adults. The woes that filmmakers usually experience really do pale in comparison to what this production went through."

Just a day after reading in Variety about the UK's Human Film - previously profiled on Netribution - getting their Iraqi-set and shot feature film Ahlaam a release in Iraq, comes the news that the much awaited making-of documentary on the film, War, Love, God & Madness has been selected for Robert de Niro's Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

In the film, Ahlaam helmer Mohamed Al-Daradji, an Iraqi-Dutch national, leads us on his disturbing journey inside Baghdad where fiction and reality blur in the gritty aftermath of 25 years of dictatorship, three wars and occupation - as never seen before.

In 2004, undaunted by the volatile political, military dangers and heartbreaking chaos, after studying in the UK, Al-Daradji returned to his home, Baghdad. Stumbling upon the once vibrant streets now consumed by unemployment, hunger, poverty and madness, he set forth to make his debut film 'Ahlaam'. Challenged physically and emotionally by unimaginable brutal circumstances with no money, just hope, the camera rolls as the world unravels around the film; a young child sings for Saddam, a father grieves for his hanged son, a poet reflecting back on his time in prison, whilst a troubled friend is lost in his madness.

Struggling against time, persecution, imprisonment, injuries, terrorist attacks and the American army, Al-Daradji is determined to finish the film, even after facing execution by the banks of the Tigris River. 'Ahlaam', went on to premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, screening furthermore at 80 International film festivals, receiving 18 awards and representing Iraq for Oscar and Golden Globe Consideration in 2007. 'Ahlaam' was the dream of Al-Daradji, yet the horrific toll filming had on cast and crew during and after production. Was it all worth it?

War, Love, God & Madness is Lost in La Mancha for adults. The woes that filmmakers usually experience really do pale in comparison to what this production went through which elevates it beyond a 'behind the scenes' documentary of a film. It amazingly offers insight into the political climate in Iraq coupled with the day-by-day reality of the people living in a warzone and showing how difficult it is to survive with so many odds stacked against you.

Iraqi/Dutch filmmaker Al-Daradji worked closely with British editor Danny Evans to piece together the fragmented jigsaw of his experiences of filming in a war zone in the hope to find his sanity and to get us to see and hear the true Iraqi story behind the occupation, one that the media has failed to portray. 

Having spoken with Mohamed about his experiences - starting with a dream that inspired the story, then one death-defying experience after another during the produciton, and a heartbreaking finished film which redefines 'guerilla filmmaking' (shooting with a camera in one hand and a machine gun in the other) - War, Love, God & Madness should make for powerful viewing.