Regular Price $34.99

Starring: Sinan Antoon, 
Directed By: Sinan Antoon,  Adam Shapiro,  Suzy Salamy,  Bassam Haddad,  Maya Mikdashi, 
Rated: Unrated
Release Date: 2004
Studio: AFD
Format: Closed-captioned,  Color,  DVD-Video,  Full length,  Subtitled,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about About Baghdad

Description
In July 2003, Sinan Antoon, an exiled Iraqi writer and poet, returned to his native Baghdad to see what became of his city after decades of wars, sanctions, oppression and occupation. Antoon takes us along on his quest to explore what Iraqis feel and think about the post-war situation and the complex relationship between the US and Iraq. ABOUT BAGHDAD is a journey into the hearts and minds of Iraqis encountered in Baghdad.

OFFICIAL SELECTION
- Montreal World Film Festival
- Cinemayaat: Arab Film Festival, San Francisco - Arabian Sights Film Festival, Washington, DC
- Calgary International Film Festival

Customer Reviews for About Baghdad

A multi-hued perspective on pre and post occupied Iraq
Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi writer and poet who was forced to flee the country in 1991. Upon his return, he was determined to explore the continuing turbulent climate of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. In July of 2003, shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, he compiled many colorful, meaningful, and fascinating interviews from citizens in all walks of life in Iraq. These are their voices yearning to be heard sending out messages that the world needs to hear.

Before any intervention by the United States, there is an overwhelming consensus here about Saddam Hussein and his Ba'th party being the major factors that left Iraq in tatters and caused endless misery to citizens everywhere. Many Iraqis describe the horrors of Abu Ghraib prison, the oppressive elements of a dictatorship government they endured, and their current thoughts of America's stance toward Iraq.

Looking at both sides of the equation, many Iraqi citizens share their mixed feelings about the occupation in Iraq and for good reasons. While a large number of the interviewees acknowledge worthwhile efforts of America in Iraq, an equal number can attest to a lackluster response from the United States in fulfilling needs and keeping promises to improve current conditions. This is a fair argument in my opinion because the state of affairs at present are far from ideal in any case no matter how you interpret the situation.

Faced with hardships such as high unemployment, lack of critical city infrastructure, and widespread criminal activity to name just a few, the overwhelming concerns of the Iraqi populace are certainly justified. Confronting an uncertain future on many levels, several citizens reveal their hopes, ideas, and desires to rebuild shattered lives and to restore Iraq to a vibrant and prosperous country once again.

`About Baghdad' is a great documentary that I found to be quite comprehensive in detail. The mixture of different but balanced opinions and viewpoints here is a refreshing break from mainstream media's common tendency to report in a non-objective fashion in many cases. All in all this is a fine program and I recommend it to everyone.
About Baghdad

An excellent and balanced overview of Iraqi popular opinion
This is an excellent documentary which samples opinions from many Iraqis of different social, economic, and educational levels regarding the American occupation and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. If you want to hear Iraqis who welcome the US soldiers as saviors, as well as those who believe they're occupying agressors who are only after oil, that's all here-- as well as opinions of every shade in between.

More significantly, seeing the different people in their own environment, speaking their own language and interacting both with the interviewers and with one another, gives an excellent and often-absent context for these opinions. At the same time, seeing all the opinions together and in context, makes it clear to the viewer not only that there is more complexity of opinion than the normal sound-bites allow for, but also helps the viewer to understand how even within one country, different people with different backgrounds and interests, can have radically divergent opinions on this subject.

Incidentally, the fact that the interviewees are translated by means of subtitles, rather than dubbing, makes this an excellent resource for students of Arabic and Iraqi. Most of the interviewees speak in Iraqi dialect, although the more educated ones speak in standard Arabic or English. (Interestly enough, the more education Iraqis who speak in English and foojha tend to be much more anti-American than the more common Iraqis, which was a surprise to me, personally.)

All in all, an excellent documentary.About Baghdad