Son of Babylon
| Son of Babylon | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Mohamed Al-Daradji |
| Produced by |
Isabelle Stead Atia Al-Daradji Mohamed Al-Daradji |
| Written by |
Mohamed Al-Daradji Mithal Ghazi Jennifer Norridge |
| Starring |
Shazada Hussein Yasser Talib |
| Music by | Kad Achouri |
| Cinematography | Mohamed Al-Daradji |
| Edited by | Mohamed Al-Daradji & Pascale Chavance |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes[1] |
| Country | Iraq |
| Language | Arabic & Kurdish |
| Budget | $2 million |
Son of Babylon (Arabic: ابن بابل) is a 2010 Iraqi drama film directed, produced and co-written by Mohamed Al-Daradji, Variety's Middle Eastern Filmmaker of the year 2010.
The film was developed through The Sundance Institute and was selected as Iraq's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards,[2] but it didn't make the final shortlist.[3]
Plot
The film is set initially in Northern Iraq, 2003, two weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy begrudgingly follows in the shadow of his grandmother. On hearing news that prisoners of war have been found alive in the South, she is determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed’s father, who never returned from the Gulf war in 1991. From the mountains of Kurdistan to the sands of Babylon, they hitch rides from strangers and cross paths with fellow pilgrims, on all too similar journeys. Struggling to understand his grandmother's search, Ahmed follows in the forgotten footsteps of a father he never knew.
Cast
- Shazada Hussein
- Yasser Talib
Awards
- 60th Berlin International Film Festival, 2010 winner of the Amnesty Film Award & Peace Prize
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2010 winner of the NETPAC Award
- Raindance Film Festival, 2010, winner Best International Feature Film
- Hawaii International Film Festival, 2010, Grand Jury Prize Best Feature Film
- Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2010, Special Mention
- Cinema City IFF, Serbia 2010, Special Mention
- Zadar Film Forum, 2010, Best European Co-production
See also
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Iraqi submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ↑ "Berlinale: Son of Babylon". Berlinale. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- ↑ "Son of Babylon selected as Iraq's entry for Oscar race". Screendaily. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ↑ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-01-19.