International Film Exchange

The International Film Exchange (IFE) brings young filmmakers from around the world to Hollywood and assists them in developing the technical and creative tools needed to document important social issues in their countries of origin. The IFE serves two purposes: 1) to provide training for young filmmakers and organize outlets for their films, and 2) to raise awareness in the United States film industry about important international social issues. Participants include producers, directors, writers, cinematographers and actors.

In partnership with the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television (TFT) this program allows international filmmakers to travel to the United States, learn about filmmaking from top American artists and receive hands on mentoring and support. At the end of this program, participating filmmakers are provided small grants to produce short films.

Synopsis
Zahraa dreams of going to school. Instead she and her brother, Hassan, must scour a landfill site for valuable materials to provide for their poor family, competing against the other scavengers. When a trade between Zahraa and the self proclaimed ‘King of Garbage’ goes wrong, the sibling’s relationship is tested to breaking point – can the two overcome Zahraa’s innocent mistake?

Project background
In 2014, in co-production with, Iraq Al Rafidain Human Film UK/NL and the Humpty Dumpty Institute, the Iraqi Independent Film Centre launched it’s second short film academy initiative in Iraq.

The purpose of this academy is to grant emerging Iraqi filmmakers the opportunity to express themselves creatively, encouraging and nurturing new talent whilst actively supporting the re- establishment and development of the Iraqi film industry. The short films all focus on subjects surrounding childhood and growing up, addressing issues that children face growing up in Iraq.

Yasser was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film, having proved himself a talented writer on a number of short films in the previous years academy. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Yasser Kareem was born In 1986 In Nasiryah, Iraq. He is a graduate from the college of science. He has written screenplays for short films and documentaries. He was a co- writer on “Happy Birthday”, a short film by Mohanad Hayal which premiered at he Berlin International Film Festival and won the rising star award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. He is currently a student of the Iraqi Independent Film Centre and has just completed the short film ‘Kingdom of Garbage’. He also works as a journalist.

Filmography
Kingdom of Garbage (2014)

Synopsis
A seemingly normal car journey crosses from present reality into a recurring nightmare as Hamoudi, a young victim of war, relives his traumatic experiences of the Baghdad Blackwater shootings.

The purpose of this workshop was to grant emerging Iraqi filmmakers the opportunity to express themselves creatively, encouraging and nurturing new talent whilst actively supporting the re- establishment and development of the Iraqi film industry. The short films all focus on subjects surrounding childhood and growing up, addressing issues that children face growing up in Iraq.

Salam Salman was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film, having proved himself a talented asset as cinematographer on a number of short films in the previous years workshop. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Salam Salman was born in Baghdad in 1977. He studied cinema at the College of Fine Arts, Baghdad University from 2002-2006.

Salam began his film career working as first camera assistant on Oday Rasheed’s film ‘Quarantine’ (2009) In 2013, he worked as director of photography on two short films made as part of the Iraqi Independent Film Centers short film workshop.

Salam worked as a camera assistant on Mohamed Al- Daradji’s 2013 film ‘ In The Sands of Babylon’. He also worked as cinematographer on the feature film ‘The Hours’ (2013) for the Iraqi Ministry of Culture in North of Iraq. ‘Gift of my Father’ is Salam’s First short film as writer, director and editor. It was made as part of the Iraqi Independent Film Centers 2014 short film workshop.

Filmography:
(2014) Gift of my Father

Festival History:
Berlianle 2015 – Generation Kplus – Winner of the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film

Synopsis
A tormented young man constructs an ingenious devise to rescue his father from Abo Ghraib prison. What he finds there is far from his expectations, revealing the mistreatment and torture of prisoners. His hopes and dreams for a brighter future are dashed upon finding his father.

Sajjad was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film, having proved himself a talented asset in the art department on a number of short films in the previous years academy. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Sajjad Abbas was born in Iraq Baghdad in 1993. He received a diploma from the Institute of Fine Art, Baghdad in 2014. There he participated in many of Joint exhibitions.

Sajjad worked as a member of the art department on eight short movies made by the Iraqi Independent Film Center. He has completed two animation films. His most recent ‘Iraqi Superman’ was completed in 2014 as part of the IIFC’s short film workshop.

Sajjad currently works as an animator for Spacetoon in Jordan.

Filmography:
The Iraqi Superman (2014)

Synopsis
On the day of her wedding, a young girl hides from her family. Through her eye’s, we observe the anguish and conflict between her family members, exposing the opposing sides of a forced marriage. As the preparations and celebrations take place before her, she is inevitably forced to commit to the worst day of her life.

Omid was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film, having proved himself a talented asset on a number of short films in the previous years academy. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Omid Khalid was born in Baghdad. He studied cinema at the Department of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad College. He further studied in Los Angeles at UCLA in a Film Workshop.

Omid now lives in Iraq, working for Iraq Al-Rafidain, a film production company based in Baghdad, and is a board member for the Iraqi Independent Film Center.

Omid has worked on a number of film projects, including ‘In The Sands of Babylon’ (2013) by Mohammed Al-Daradji, working as production manager. He worked on a number of shorts as part of the Iraqi Independent Film Centres 2013 Short Film Workshop, as well as writing and directing his own short film, ‘Dark to Dark’, as part of the 2014 short film workshop.

Filmography:
Dark to Dark (2014)

Synopsis
In the aftermath of a tragedy, a grieving mother visit’s the site where her son was killed. There she encounters the young boy’s spirit, unable to make sense of his surroundings. This brief encounter will finally put the boy’s spirit to rest, allowing him to join the other victims in the after life.

Medoo was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film, having proved himself a talented asset on a number of short films in the previous years academy. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Medoo Ali was born in 1991. He studied at the Centre of Fine Arts in Baghdad.

Medoo has worked in a number of Iraqi feature films that were produced after 2003, most notably on the films of Mohamed Al Daradji including ‘Son of Babylon’, the documentary ‘In My Mother’s Arms’ and most recently ‘In The Sands of Babylon’. Medoo has also worked with filmmaker Oday Rasheed, as well as other Iraqi projects.

Medoo directed his first short film, ‘Children of War’ as part of a workshop through the Iraqi Independent Film Centre. He also co-directed the film ‘Nesma’s Birds’, made as part of the same workshop. Most recently, he completed his latest short film ‘Taste of Life’.

Filmography:
Nesma’s Birds (2013)
Children of War (2013)
Taste of Life (2014)

Synopsis
Mohamed is a refugee from Syria – a result of the crisis of 2010. He has no recollection of his family or life before he reached Baghdad. In an attempt to reunite Mohamed with his family, Wareth Kwaish embarks on a journey, searching the refugee camps along the Iraqi-Syrian border, desperately seeking leads as to their whereabouts. Along the way, he discovers people’s selfless desire to aid his search, as well as the tragic stories of some of the thousands of Syrian refugee’s like Mohamed. Will Wareth’s search prove fruitful?

Warith was selected to write, direct and edit his own short film. In total, six short films were written and produced by students under the supervision of award winning producer and filmmaker, Mohamed Al-Daradji.

Director
Wareth Kwaish was born in 1992 in Baghdad. He studied cinema at the Baghdad institute of fine arts, specializing in cinema. He gained experience in this field working with Iraqi director, Mohamed Al-Daradji as well as working on other projects by Iraqi filmmakers.

Wareth has completed two films, ‘Once they were here’ and ‘A Nation Without A Homeland’ which was completed in 2014 as part of the Iraqi Independent Film Centers short film workshop.

Wareth currently works for the Iraqi Independent Film Centre.

Producer
Mohamed Al-Daradji is a multi-award Iraqi Filmmaker, based in Baghdad. His feature and documentary work has earned him a plethora of international awards, including the title of Variety’s Middle Eastern Filmmaker of the Year in 2010. Aside from working on his own film projects, Mohamed is an advocate for the re-establishment and development of the film industry in Iraq. Through Iraqi Independent Film Centre he is actively working to encourage and train a new generation of filmmakers through a series of short film workshops in Baghdad. Mohamed is currently working on his latest feature project ‘Journey to God’.