About Baghdad

In July 2003, Sinan Antoon, an exiled Iraqi writer and poet, returned to Baghdad to see what had become of his city after wars, sanctions, decades of oppression, violence and now occupation. He starts an urban journey exploring what Iraqis think and feel about the post-war situation and the complex relationship between the US and Iraq. In the heat of Baghdad’s summer, Iraqis of various ethnic and political backgrounds and orientations speak of past horrors and present fears. Reflections on the traumatic legacy of dictatorship, sanctions and war also reflect the resilience and humanity of a people that was dehumanised for decades and disappeared behind Saddam’s image. From poets to politicians, cabbies to communists, a retired senior citizen to American soldiers in the “Green Zone,” About Baghdad navigates the dire and often misunderstood and misrepresented straits separating, yet involving both Iraqis and Americans. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)