Dreams

Baghdad 2003: bewilderment, insecurity and death surround the bombed ruins of a psychiatric asylum.We move between the past and the present of three Iraqi lives entangled in the chaos of the war. Ahlaam, a bewildered young woman, confined to the asylum after witnessing the violent arrest of her fiancee on their wedding day, lives a restrained, utterly delusional existence. Dr. Mehdi, a hard working idealist exiled to work at the institution despite his abilities, longs for a free Iraq where humanity is cherished, not brutalized by hatred and fear. Ali, a patient and former soldier, once a proudly optimisticman eager to serve his country, now a shell-shocked shadow, is traumatized by the American attacks. During a bombing of the asylum, all three of them try to return home and help others in their own way.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Script: Mohamed Al-Daradji

Cinematography: Mohamed Al-Daradji

Editing: Ghassan Abduall, Ian Watson

Music: Naseer Shama

Actors: Aseel Adel (Ahlaam), Bashir Al-Majid (Ali), Mohamed Hashim (Dr. Mehdi)

Production: Human Film & Iraq Al-Rafidain. Production Design: Hasan Falih

Producers: Atea Al-Daradji

Format: 35mm Color

Production Country: Iraq-UK

Production Year: 2005

Duration: 110

Contact: Human Film, UKIsabelle Stead, T. +44 1132 438 880isabelle@humanfilm.co.uk www.humanfilm.co.uk

Mohamed Al-Daradji

He was born in Baghdad in 1978 and studied Film&Theatre studies at the Art Institute of Baghdad. He continued his studies in Holland at the Media Academy in Hilversum. He then went on to study Cinematography and Directing at the Northern Film School in England. A winner of the prestigious National Kodak Student Award for Best Commercial, his first feature film, Dreams, was screened at over 40 Film Festivals worldwide and received numerous awards.