Biographies: Abbas Fahdel - Writer

Biographies

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An Iraqi director, film critic, and screenwriter, born in Hillah, Babylon Governorate, Iraq. At the age of 18, he moved to France, where he settled and obtained a doctorate from the Sorbonne University in cinema after studying under the supervision of great directors such as Eric Rohmer and Jean Rouch. He worked as a lecturer and film critic in the French and Arab press, then turned to television directing, then film directing. In January 2002, he returned to Iraq to film his documentary Back to Babylon, in which he reviews the effects of the Iran-Iraq War, the Second Gulf War, and the blockade imposed by the United Nations. A year later, when a new war broke out, Abbas returned to Iraq again and made his second documentary, We Iraqis, as an affirmation of his identity. In 2008, he directed his feature film, Dawn of the World, which revolves around an Iraqi soldier who survived the Gulf War. He filmed it in Egypt because it was impossible to film it in Iraq due to the deteriorating security conditions in the country at that time. In 2015, his film Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) won the Grand Prix in the International Feature Film Competition of the Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon. His films won several awards and participated in international festivals in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, South Korea, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.

• 17 January 2024
• Dalia Saad