On 27 august 2015 it was selected to represent switzerland for the foreign. We believe that society is best served through an informed and engaged public. In iraqi odyssey, filmmaker samir explores how the instability and internecine. Bomben, krieg, wutende bartige manner, verschleierte schluchzende frauen, kaputte stadte. We would like to retell the story of iraq, for ultimately history is but a collection of smaller and larger stories. New york times a personal, insightful and beautifully made filmi was spellbound in front of the screen. In watching such haunting films as iraqi odyssey, especially given its focus on samirs family, one, to a degree, expects a sort of happy ending. Nov 27, 2015 iraqi odyssey, a twoandahalfhour personal history written and directed by the swiss filmmaker samir full name, samir jamal aldin, is the kind of documentary whose length and complexity. In his impressive 3d documentary iraqi odyssey, the iraqi born swiss filmmaker samir combines the personal stories of some of his relatives with archive footage of events in iraq from the ottoman empire to the era of saddam hussein.
At berlin 2015 please visit us at the european film market martin gropius bau stand nr. Iraqi odyssey, a family film about living outside your homeland. The iraqi independent film center, run by a group of young filmmakers, simultaneously launched a movement dubbed the 1 million viewers. Metered street parking is also available along jefferson blvd. The first cinemas, like the famous alzawra cinema on baghdads bustling thoroughfare alrashid, played mostly american silent films for british citizens in the 1940s under the rule of king faisal ii of iraq, a real iraqi cinema began. Iraqi odyssey traces, in effect, the abject failure of iraq along with other arab nations to develop as a modern and just society, that is. Film director samir tells the story of his globalised middleclass iraqi family. Iraq, as seen through the eyes of the western media these days. The major problem here however is that the film is nearly three hours long and after awhile its like a university lecture that has gone on much too long. Rental information this film is available from afd for public screenings and television broadcast. Awardwinning film scholar and teacher amy villarejo finally gives us the quick, smart, readerfriendly guide to film vocabulary that every teacher, student, and movie enthusiast has been waiting for, as well as a onestop primer in the past, present, and future of film production, exhibition, circulation, and theory. Iraqi odyssey is a 2014 swiss documentary film directed by samir. Iraqi odyssey 2014 world premiere iraqi odyssey at tiff toronto international film festival 2014 see all 7 photos. Iraqi odyssey opens in the us world socialist web site.
Conception media is a film and media production company focused on projects and campaigns to raise awareness for critical global issues that are underrepresented in todays complex media system. The iraq war which began in 2003 had an influence on many films being produced. Oct 02, 2014 iraqi odyssey traces, in effect, the abject failure of iraq along with other arab nations to develop as a modern and just society, that is, a bourgeois democracy out from under the thumb. Retrospective samir hof international film festival. May 30, 2016 for american audiences iraqi odyssey will be a revelation. Eine globalisierte irakische familie im exil erzahlt, wie es soweit kommen konnte. Directed by samir generally, when people in the west think of iraq, the impression isnt very good. After samir finished his 2002 documentary forgotten bagdad. The film is the first iraqi film to be shown in iraqi theaters in more than 25 years, since the 1991 uprisings. Switzerland nominates iraqi odyssey for the oscars. Iraqi odyssey and other pictures of the modern world. Granted he is able to reunite his scattered relatives together in switzerland for the films epilogue, the film ends on anything but a positive note. Jan 29, 2015 bomben, krieg, wutende bartige manner, verschleierte schluchzende frauen, kaputte stadte. Mar 07, 2018 the film is the first iraqi film to be shown in iraqi theaters in more than 25 years, since the 1991 uprisings.
Iraqi odyssey, switzerlands official submission for this years academy awards, is a sprawling historical documentary from writerdirector samir that tells the story of a globalized middleclass iraqi family who are scattered all over the world, presenting a moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by dictatorship, war and foreign occupation. He has flown over 100 combat mission in operations enduring freedom, iraqi freedom, odyssey dawn, unified protector, inherent resolve, and horn of africa. Shedding a new light on a grossly misrepresented country, iraqi odyssey is the veteran directors most personal, ambitious, and accomplished. Iraqi odyssey, switzerlands official submission for this years academy awards, is a sprawling historical documentary from writerdirector samir that tells the story of a globalized middleclass iraqi family who are scattered all over the world, presenting a moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by dictatorship, war. It was one of seven films shortlisted by switzerland to be their submission for the academy award for best foreign language film at the 88th academy awards. Ill update this post with my tweeted responses to these films, hopefully once a day. Granted he is able to reunite his scattered relatives together in switzerland for the films epilogue, the. All your stories together make up the history of iraq.
Since the early 1980s, he has been working as a cameraman, author and film director. Ottoman film footage and 3d technology, iraqi odyssey is a riveting epic that creates a genuine peoples history of iraq, at once humble and majestic. November 24, 2015 heartrending throughout, iraqi odyssey is everything you want in a documentary informative, involving, and eager to decipher complex, often paradoxical historical conundrums. Epic doc iraqi odyssey movingly traces one familys. Tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a century, this riveting 3d documentary epic from acclaimed expatriate iraqi filmmaker samir pays moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by the horrors of dictatorship, war, and foreign occupation. Iraqi odyssey, a twoandahalfhour personal history written and directed by the swiss filmmaker samir full name, samir jamal aldin, is the kind of documentary whose length and complexity. Samir rewinds to 50 years ago, around the time he was born, when everything seemed totally cool in iraq. Samir was born the son of a swiss mother and an iraqi father in baghdad. Why an egyptian director is writing a film about chris kyles nemesis an image from an online video claiming to show an. After he had completed his studies, he wanted to return to his father on the iranian side of the border river. This film is available with a digital site license dsl, which allows colleges, universities, or libraries to encode, locally host, and stream the film to their community on a closed, passwordprotected system. Weaving together the ironic, wistful, and witty testimonies of samirs relatives with rare documents from private and state archives, ottoman film footage and 3d technology, iraqi odyssey delivers a genuine peoples history of iraq that is humble and majestic. Samir, the director of the highly topical iraqi odyssey, tells us about.
Iraqi odyssey is the official entry of switzerland for the 2015. He is a senior pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in the t6, t44, cj, and kc5. For american audiences iraqi odyssey will be a revelation. Iraqi odyssey 2015 filmmaker samir examines the history of his extended iraqi family while traveling throughout the world to visit his scattered relatives. Like hundreds of thousands before them and untold more to come, the iraqi family had just. Ahlaam 2005 alia et issam 1948 amira walnahr, al 1982 ana alirak 1961 another day 1978 aouda il al rif, al 1963 arouss alphurate 1956. Iraqi odyssey, switzerlands official submission for this years academy awards, is a sprawling historical documentary from writerdirector samir that tells the story of a globalized middleclass iraqi family who are scattered all over the world, presenting a moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by dictatorship, war and foreign. Dec 03, 2015 iraqi expat filmmaker samir takes viewers on an informative trip through his homelands history through a very personal lens, his family tree. The usc school of cinematic arts is located at 900 w. Shedding a new light on a grossly misrepresented country, iraqi odyssey is the veteran directors most personal, ambitious, and accomplished feature to date. Iraqi expat filmmaker samir takes viewers on an informative trip through his homelands history through a very personal lens, his family tree. We recommend parking structure d, at the far end of 34th street.
Why an egyptian director is writing a film about chris kyles nemesis an image from an online video claiming to show an iraqi sniper, thought to have been the nemesis of. Switzerland nominates iraqi odyssey for the oscars video of lts2imlv7ry tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a century, this riveting 3d documentary epic from acclaimed expatriate iraqi filmmaker samir pays moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by the horrors of dictatorship, war. Most difficult film of my life full interview with samir. Iraqi odyssey reorient middle eastern arts and culture. Samir is an iraqiborn writer, director and producer living in switzerland. He attended the school of design in zurich, completed an apprenticeship as a typographer and subsequently trained as a cameraman with condor films. Dangle for expanded cinema and see marnies bf looking. While iraqs first film projection took place in 1909, cinema was not truly regarded as a cultural activity or pastime until the 1920s. In this riveting and timely film, author and director samir tells the compelling story of his globalized middleclass iraqi familynow scattered between auckland, moscow, paris, london and buffalo, new yorkrecounting their stories of departures and uprootings. The qasus do not normally cry, but this felt nothing like normal.
His family moved in 1961 to switzerland, where he went to school. Samirs documentary iraqi odyssey tells the story of his own diasporic family and in the telling he reconstructs a part of iraqi history. An iraqi odyssey extract by heidi kingstone stockholm. Usc cinematic arts school of cinematic arts events. In his impressive 3d documentary iraqi odyssey, the iraqiborn swiss filmmaker. Financial analysis of iraqi odyssey 2015 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability. Part history lesson, part family portrait, samirs nearly threehour iraqi odyssey is one of the more breathless documentaries in recent memory. Completed my final ticket selections this morning during my assigned window for the back half pass which gives you a slightly discounted rate for movies playing in the last five days of the festival. Bombs, war, angry bearded men, shrouded sobbing women, shattered cities. Todays your last day to see iraqi odyssey at ifc, so we suggest you jump to it. We find savage religious war between sunnis and shiites, an army that turned and ran at the first. Weaving together the ironic, wistful, and witty testimonies of samirs relatives with rare documents from private and state archives, and ottoman film footage, iraqi odyssey is a riveting epic that creates a genuine peoples history of iraq, at once humble and majestic. Iraqi odyssey and other pictures of the modern world world.
On 27 august 2015 it was selected to represent switzerland for the foreign language oscar but it was not nominated. In the 1960s, he moved to switzerland with his family, where he completed his studies at the academy of arts in zurich and later trained as a typesetter. Switzerland nominates iraqi odyssey for the oscars embassy. About five million iraqis are living away outside their country today. Nov 24, 2015 part history lesson, part family portrait, samirs nearly threehour iraqi odyssey is one of the more breathless documentaries in recent memory. Nov 27, 2015 the film is amazingly informative and gives us a good deal of insight into the issues of the middle east from a perspective most of us havent really been exposed to.
Huffington post iraqi odyssey is one of the more breathless documentaries in recent memory. Not rated 2h 42min documentary 27 november 2015 usa iraqi odyssey. Samirs iraqi odyssey an unwieldy tale of his scattered. Jan 29, 2015 film director samir tells the story of his globalized middleclass iraqi family, scattered between auckland, moscow, paris, london and buffalo, new york. In my first two films, jamal al din appeared in the credits, but the film critics misspelled it. These images are juxtaposed with those from the fifties and seventies. In this riveting and timely film, author and director samir tells the compelling story of his globalized middleclass iraqi familynow scattered between auckland, moscow, paris, london and buffalo, new yorkrecounting their stories of. Film director samir tells the story of his globalized middleclass iraqi family, scattered between auckland, moscow, paris, london and buffalo, new york. November 24, 2015 heartrending throughout, iraqi odyssey is everything you want in a documentary informative, involving, and eager to decipher. In 2015, his film iraqi odyssey was submitted by switzerland for the oscar in the category best foreign language film. For information regarding rental rates and formats, please contact. The cinema of iraq went through a downturn under saddam husseins regime.
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