“War, Love, God & Madness”, a new documentary feature film by Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Al-Daradji, will be shown for the first time to U.S audiences this month when it competes as part of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in lower Manhattan.
In 2004 Al-Daradji returned home to Baghdad and set forth making a feature film. After an astonishingly difficult shoot, his film, “Ahlaam” (“Dreams”), was completed and released in 2005. “Ahlaam” went on to screen at international film festivals around the globe, taking home 18 awards, including the Sprit Award at the 2006 Brooklyn International Film Festival. “Ahlaam” also represented Iraq for the 2007 Oscar consideration.
During the filming, Al-Daradji was exposed to brutal conditions in war torn Baghdad, facing violence every day. He was exposed to the poverty, unemployment, hunger and dilapidation that plagued the once vibrant Baghdad streets of his childhood.
“War, Love, God & Madness” is the “film behind the film”, chronicling Al-Daradji’s incredible story of getting “Ahlaam” made under extraordinary conditions. The film captures Al-Daradji’s struggle against terrorist attacks, the American army, imprisonment, persecution, and violence in order to get “Ahlaam” made.
“War, Love, God & Madness” goes beyond the typical “behind the scenes” documentary by exposing audiences to the horrors that Iraqi’s face everyday while living in a war zone, as well as the complex political and social climate of Iraq.
The film will be screened five times during the festival, which kicks off on April 23rd. On Friday, April 25th, “War, Love, God & Madness” will get its U.S premier. For more information about dates and ticketing, visit http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/filmguide/War_Love_God__Madness.html