With intimate access to Tiba and her friends we join young Iraqi women and men who side by side are fighting for democracy in Iraq. Tiba’s life is changing dramatically while she is taking part in the biggest youth movement in Iraq's history.

Interview with Writer/Director Karrar Al-Azzawi

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I made this film to tell the story of Tiba my main character but also to tell the story of the Iraqi youth who are fighting for freedom and democracy. In this film, I wanted to tell the story of the individual Iraqis to give the audience an opportunity to get to know Iraq and Iraqis as humans not as victims but rather as resilient.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Because it is a story you can identify yourself with in one way or another. In this film are the Iraqi youth fighting for freedom and universal values as many youths and people all around the world. And I'm sure you will love Tiba and be fascinated by her strength and courage. You have to watch this film to get inspired to keep or start fighting for your rights and everyone's rights in your country or community.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

My film tells a very personal story, the private story of Tiba and the story of her fight for Iraq and women's rights. She is fighting for freedom and equality which is a very universal fight which a lot of people can identify themselves with. At the same time, the story of Tiba is very much like the story of many Iraqi, and Arabic women and women from other parts of the world. As well as the story of the Iraqi youth fight which is a universal fight of people everywhere in the past, recently, and in the future, I think.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The film has been through so much development and some radical changes have happened. Early in the production, the story was to follow Tiba's life in the demonstrations and at home. And to get to know Tiba and her friends in the fight for freedom and a better future. But after a while, the regime was getting more and more brutal and killing more and more of the youth demonstrators which caused a huge change. Then, after more than 4 months in the demonstrations, one of the characters in the film was shot and killed. This was a turning point for the development and the whole film.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

- A woman in the US said: This is the first time I see a film about Iraq. I feel that the first time I get to know the Iraqis as real people like us.

- A couple from Cuba at Slamdance said: This youth is exactly like our youth. We are sure everyone in South America can identify themselves with Tiba and the Iraqi youth. This is an important film for everyone to watch.

- A woman said: an important, courageous portrait of the struggle for peace and rights.

Other comments:

- Amazing to see and not unlike the youthful protests now taking place in Iran. It gives me hope for the future. Old men in positions of power across the world have a lot to answer for.

- God bless you. These girls are good examples for the world and freedom in Iraq.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I was very very glad when I hear people saying that for the first time, they got to know and see Iraqis very much like them and that they can identify with them. This was my goal to show the Iraqi youth as people and luckily I did.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

To reach out to as many people as possible by getting the film into festivals, TV channels, or. journalists that can write about the film.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

TV channels, buyers, film festival directors, and journalists.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I wish this film can give opportunity to the audience around the world to get to know the Iraqi young generation, my generation. And the youth and people get inspired to continue or start fighting for their rights and to say NO to war, conflict, and dictatorship.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How can we help the Iraqi youth to be free and make real changes in Iraq?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Dreaming Souls and Far Away from Home

Interview: February 2023

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Baghdad on Fire

Length: 31:00

Director: Karrar Al-Azzawi

Producer: Jørgen Lorentzen and Nefise Özkal Lorentzen

Writer: Karrar Al-Azzawi

About the writer, director and producer:

KARRAR AL-AZZAWI is an Iraqi filmmaker who lives in Norway. He is a BFA student at the TV School, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, Bachelor of Film-Directing and he will finish in Spring 2023. He works as an independent film director as well as working at Integral Film. His vision is to contribute to changing the world by fostering greater understanding and solidarity between people. Baghdad on fire is Al-Azzawi’s international debut film. He is currently working on making it into his first feature film. In addition, he is working on a documentary film called Dreaming Souls which tells the story of two girls with Down Syndrome, one girl from Iraq and one from Norway. During his five years in the asylum process, he made the short film Just Crumbs (2016) and organized international photography exhibitions called Forgotten, in several European countries with the aim to raise awareness about the refugee situation around the world.

JØRGEN LORENTZEN, a producer at Integral Film, is a former journalist and professor in gender studies at The University of Oslo. He has produced 17 films including the short documentary Kayayo (2016), which was shortlisted for an Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards, the award-winning documentaries Seyran Ates: Sex, Revolution and Islam (2021) and The Art of Whistling (2021), and this year the documentary Baghdad on fire. He directed the documentary film A Gift From God (2019), which investigates the truth behind the failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

NEFISE ÖZKAL LORENTZEN is a Turkish-Norwegian writer, filmmaker and professor at the faculty of Audiovisual Media and Creative Technologies at Innland University, Norway. She received her B.A. in Political Science at Bosphorus University in Istanbul and her M.A. in Media and Communication at the University of Oslo. Over the past two decades, she has produced and directed several controversial documentaries related to Islam. As a result of her dedication to LGBTQ rights and human rights activism through her films, she’s been named one of the TOP 10 immigrant role models in Norway. Her trilogy of films entitled, Gender Me (2008), A Balloon for Allah (2011) and Manislam (2014), bring alive these untold stories through public visibility. Her recent film Seyran Ates: Sex, Revolution and Islam (2021) shows that change within Islam is possible.

Key cast: Tiba Fadhil, Yusif Satar and Khader Elias Taha

Looking for: film festival directors, buyers and journalists

Facebook: Karrar AL-Azzawi

Twitter: @Alazzawikarrar

Instagram: @alazzawikarrar

Website: www.integralfilm.com/films/baghdad-on-fire

Other: IMDb

Funders: The Norwegian Film Institute, Eastern Norwegian film centre/ Østnorsk filmsenter, Norwegian Cultural Fund, Fritt Ord Foundation, Al Jazeera, AftenpostenTV, International Media Support (IMS), The Storyboard Collective and Integral film AS

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Slamdance film festival at Park City - Monday 01.23 at 12:30 and Wednesday 01.25 at 11 am.
Big Sky film festival at Missoula, Montana - in February but the date and time are not confirmed yet.
REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival at Saguenay, Quebec, Canada - in March but the date and time are not confirmed yet.