MASTER CLASS by Taher ALWAN - ATHENS
Monday, April 7, 2008 | Dr. TAHER ALWAN
IRAQI CINEMA IN WAR AND PEACE
MASTER CLASS IN ECOCINEMA FILM FESTIVAL - ATHENS
BY TAHER ALWAN
Cinema at times of peace, cinema at times of war, is the story of Iraqi cinema to be told. A cinema struggling to keep alive under difficult conditions.,with many obstacles and very limited resources.Iraqi cinema goes back to the 40s, under the influence of the modern cinema movements of the time. In the 60s and 70s the film industry developed, but soon became part of the government machinery ending up as a propaganda tool for the war of the 80s. Nonetheless, infrastructure for cinema was developing as were educational and training possibilities for film makers, and funding was available from the Ministry of Culture.The 1991 and 2003 invasions brought many setbacks to film making. Many cinemas were closed, many institutions stopped working, funding dried up, people became concerned by other immediate needs for survival.However, there is reason for optimism. Iraqi film makers have not given up. Concrete proof is the fact that over 400 independent documentaries have been made since the first appeared in 1922, and the fact that the International Bagdad Film Festival was founded in 2005.
BY TAHER ALWAN
Cinema at times of peace, cinema at times of war, is the story of Iraqi cinema to be told. A cinema struggling to keep alive under difficult conditions.,with many obstacles and very limited resources.Iraqi cinema goes back to the 40s, under the influence of the modern cinema movements of the time. In the 60s and 70s the film industry developed, but soon became part of the government machinery ending up as a propaganda tool for the war of the 80s. Nonetheless, infrastructure for cinema was developing as were educational and training possibilities for film makers, and funding was available from the Ministry of Culture.The 1991 and 2003 invasions brought many setbacks to film making. Many cinemas were closed, many institutions stopped working, funding dried up, people became concerned by other immediate needs for survival.However, there is reason for optimism. Iraqi film makers have not given up. Concrete proof is the fact that over 400 independent documentaries have been made since the first appeared in 1922, and the fact that the International Bagdad Film Festival was founded in 2005.
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