Co-presented with the Open Society Institute's
Middle East/North African initiative, ArteEast's
event, Baghdad Film School: Making Movies
in Iraq, brought together Kasim Abid and Maysoon
Pachachi, the founders of the Independent Film
and Television College in Baghdad:the first school
of its kind in Iraq Featuring a discussion with the
founders as well as a screening of a selection of recent work by the school's first generation of young filmmakers, the event provided a forum for the voices of ordinary Iraqis'—voices that have been silenced by years of dictatorship, war and occupation.

With the opportunity to view films produced on the
ground by young people, attendees caught glimpses of what the war means to Iraqis themselves, including personal experiences recounting what it means to live under occupation as well as the challenges of simply making a film during a time of deteriorating security and civil well-being. The films were moving and undoubtedly humanizing, igniting emotion and reflection.

Please contact ArteEast for more information,
including ways in which you may support the Independent Film and Television Network