VOICES OF IRAQ showcases a selection of films produced by SADA and the Independent Film & Television College, two grass roots initiatives founded by independent Iraqi artists with a common goal of empowering Iraqis to tell their stories and shape their own narratives during times of war.
SADA, a virtual and physical ad hoc arts education project for Baghdad-based artists and art students, was founded by artist Rijin Sahakian and operated from 2011 to 2015. It provided a safe space for Iraqi artists to explore and create in the midst of conflict and uncertainty. Almost a decade later, former SADA artists came together to reflect on their experiences and create an experimental anthology film that explores individual and collective art practices in the context of occupation and warfare. Sada [regroup] compiles the video works of artists Sajjad Abbas, Ali Eyal, Sarah Munaf, Rijin Sahakian, Bassim Al Shaker.
In this program is also a selection of documentary works created by students of the Independent Film & Television College, co- founded in 2004 by Maysoon Pachachi and Kasim Abid, filmmakers of Iraqi origin. This free-of-charge film training program aimed to give Iraqis a voice by teaching them how to tell their stories through film. Despite the difficult and dangerous conditions in Baghdad, the college’s students completed short documentary films that illuminate ordinary life in Iraq during the war and occupation, from a perspective missing in the mainstream media.
