Screen/Society--Special Events!--"Iraqi Odyssey"

Film Screening: "Iraqi Odyssey" (Samir, 2014, 162 min, Switzerland, in Arabic and English w/ English subtitles, Color, Blu-Ray) / 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 colonialism, dictatorship, war, and foreign occupation. Loosely organized in three acts, the film begins with Samir's grandfather and his role in the struggle against British colonialism. The second act traces the successive waves of emigration as his relatives sought safe havens around the globe to escape from the series of coups and counter-coups in the 1960s and 1970s that resulted in the establishment of Saddam Hussein's three-decade dictatorship over the country. Saddam's deposition by the 2003 US invasion, and the iconic image of his statue being toppled in Firdos Square, signals the film's final act, and the last tale of departure./ -- Winner for Best Film in Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2014)! / -- "A personal, insightful and beautifully made film...I was spellbound in front of the screen." -- Huffington Post / -- "An impressive amount of archival material, nicely edited and accompanied by appropriate music tracks, acts as both family album and chronicle of a lost world." -- Variety / Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8z9e6rCKXg