Young Iraqi Film Students Tell Their Own Stories From Mosul
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published December 29, 2021 | 09:20 AM
Mosul, Iraq, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Dec, 2021 ) :A budding Iraqi filmmaker yells "action!" as an actress clambers over rubble in Mosul's Old City, proud students of a nascent film school in the former jihadist bastion.
Mosul still bears the scars of the brutal reign of the Islamic State group, who overran the northern Iraqi city in 2014 and imposed their ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic law.
They destroyed everything from centuries-old churches to musical instruments, before being routed in a devastating battle in 2017.
Now, in a collaboration between the Mosul fine arts academy, a Belgian theatre company and UN cultural agency UNESCO, 19 students are getting a chance to make their first short films.
"We live in Mosul, we know everything that happened," said 20-year-old theatre student Mohammed Fawaz. "We want to show it all to the world through cinema." Over a four-month course, students get a taste of everything from writing and shooting to acting and editing, according to Milo Rau, artistic director of Belgian NTGent theatre company who is behind the initiative.
Cameras and microphones in hand, the students are now hitting Mosul's streets to tell stories from their wounded city.
- 'Stone Age to modernity' - An actress dressed as a bride searches for her husband, only to discover he has stepped on a land mine.
Children and other residents crowd around curiously, while a neighbour refuses to turn off a noisy generator.
"We're losing the light," one of the instructors reminds students, as the December sun goes down.
Studying at the fine arts academy after the IS defeat was a bit like "passing from the Stone Age to modernity", said student Fawaz.
A fan of blockbuster movies like the Marvel and "Fast and Furious" franchises, Fawaz spent several of his teen years at home with no television or schooling under the extremists, learning English through books and thanks to a neighbour.
He and some classmates have already decided "to make films on Mosul and its war", Fawaz said.
After a month-long intensive session in October, the students have been trying out different roles as they pair up to make their films, said Belgian instructor, cameraman and filmmaker Daniel Demoustier.
All the equipment like lenses and sound gear brought in from abroad will stay, he said, with the goal for the students to "pick it up again and start making their films on their own".
Even if only three or four do so, "that will be a great success", he said.
- 'Longing for childhood' - Tamara Jamal, 19, said the course was her "first experience" with cinema.
Her short film tells the story of a young girl whose father beats her mother, while others have looked at issues including early marriage.
"Most of the students prefer to talk about stories where children play the main role," said Susana AbdulMajid, an Iraqi-German actress and teacher whose family is originally from Mosul.
Young people in the city "have gone through a lot of difficult and horrible things... there is a kind of longing for childhood, and also for a time of innocence", she said.
The students' nine works, each lasting up to five minutes, will be screened in Mosul in February before being presented to European festivals, said Rau.
His production of "Orestes in Mosul" -- an adaptation of Aeschylus's ancient Greek tragedy -- was produced in 2018-2019 with the participation of local students.
The goal now is to secure funding to keep the cinema department running, he said.
The next step will be "to have a small Mosul film festival... continuing what we started".
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Dubai Police Marks International Workers' Day with 'Talabat' Riders
Sharjah Ruler inaugurates 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
Parineeti Chopra opens up about her decision to marry politician Raghav Chadha
PCB decides to set up training camp for national team ahead of England, Ireland ..
Virat Kohli's sweet birthday wish for Anushka Sharma
Interior Minister commends Pakistan Coast Guards
Pakistan women’s squad announced for England tour
Punjab CM Maryam inaugurates initiative of field hospitals
PM Shehbaz constitutes committee to investigate caretaker govt’s wheat import ..
Women T20I: Pakistan to face West Indies in fourth match tomorrow
Pak-UK 6th Regional Stabilization Conference underway at NDU, Islamabad
World Labor Day being observed today
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Experts for ending child labour
15 hours ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
17 hours ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
3 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
4 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
4 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
4 days ago
-
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
6 days ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
6 days ago -
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
8 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
10 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
10 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
10 days ago