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A 35mm tribute to Iraq war
Oday Rasheed?s Underexposure brilliantly captures the impact of Iraq war on the lives of common people in a country wracked by violence.
Iraq war might be over in the minds of people the world over but Iraqi director Oday Rasheed has a different story to tell. “The war can never be over for people in Baghdad,” says Rasheed. His film — Underexposure, makes all those horror stories of Iraq war real which the world has only read about or heard.
Underexposure was screened at the ongoing Osian Film Festival recently and is an insight into the lives of the ordinary people of Iraq shattered by the war. “People expected us to show the politics of the war, but we didn’t want to do that. We only wanted to show the impact of the war on everyday lives,” says the director.
The film opens in April 2003 with a filmmaker called Hassan musing about the war. Hassan wants to make a movie on life in Baghdad after the war. “You will find the film very personal. It is exactly how I felt after the war,” says Rasheed. As the movie progresses, one realises how true Rasheed is.
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| Oday Rasheed, a scriptwriter, film critic and musician, has directed several short films |
The protagonist has brilliantly portrayed the turmoil of a moviemaker who cannot rest in peace after the war and neither can he go ahead with his movie. The film has been screened at many festivals across the world and has been received well too. “We realised that people other than those of Arabic origin appreciated the movie more. Those who haven’t seen war want to understand the torture people go through during insurgency,” says Furat Al Jamil, the executive producer of the movie.
We wonder about the title of the film and the director informs, “The title refers to the outdated film stock which was used to make this film. This material was produced between 1975 and 1982. After this, the production of this roll stopped.” How, then, did he get hold of this material?
“After the war, the film material was looted and the silver on the film was sold to silversmiths. We purchased the silver material from the silversmiths. The other stuff was kept in the Ministry of Culture," reveals Rasheed with a proud smile. “Even then we could get hold of only 9,000 m of the film,” he adds.
Rasheed, who is also a scriptwriter, filmcritic and musician, has directed several short films. But he insists that he is a filmmaker first. Underexposure is his first feature film on the 35 mm screen and he wants to dabble with comedy next.
Visibly excited about their visit to India, Rasheed and Jamil are, however, not unfamiliar with Indian culture. “Let’s not forget that Indian culture is not alien for Iraqis. We know everything about Indian food, dress and culture,” says Jamil who plans to carry back a lot of Indian films on her way back home.
