London, just before Christmas: The strong-willed architect Amal – on the run from her ex-husband – works at Café Abu Nawas, which belongs to a Kurdish activist and is a popular meeting place for Iraqis in exile.

Her friends, the poet Taufiq and the IT specialist Muhanad, come by almost every day. Taufiq has been taking care of his nephew Nasseer since his brother's death, but he is powerless to watch his nephew change under the influence of radical Islamist preacher Sheikh Yassin, as Nasseer begins to rebel against him as an atheist.

Muhanad, on the other hand, left Baghdad only recently to escape the threat that homosexuals face there. But even here and in front of his friends, he doesn't dare to publicly stand by his English lover.

The small community is in danger when Amal's ex-husband appears in London and Sheikh Yassin simultaneously seduces Taufiq's nephew Nasseer to take action against the "godless" in Café Abu Nawas.

Direction: Samir

Script: Samir, Furat Al Jamil

Production: Joël Jent

Co-Production: Christine Kiauk, Herbert Schwering, Christine Alderson

Cinematography: Ngo The Chao

Editing: Jann Anderegg

Production Design: Fabian Lüscher

Costume Design: Ulrike Scharfschwerdt

Make-Up: Madleina von Reding

Sound: Patrick Storck

Original Score: Walter Mair

Visual Effects: Rudolf Germann

Cast: Haytham Abdulrazaq, Zahraa Ghandour, Waseem Abbas, Shervin Alenabi, Andrew Buchan

Original Title: BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW

Original Languages: Arabic, English

Film Production Countries: Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.dvfilm.ch/en/movies/fiction/baghdad-in-my-shadow

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/BaghdadinMyShadow/

Statement of the Director/s
As a fully integrated immigrant child from a "foreign culture" in the majority society, one lives a peculiar life: On the one hand, one gets to personally know all the details of everyday exclusion of migrants (including subtle racism), as well as the view of the "Leitkultur" (dominant culture) on the sometimes incomprehensible perception of the "foreigners" living here.
On the other hand, even in one's family – or in the "migrant community" in general – one is continually confronted with the prejudices of one's own old traditions, which are also virulent in the modern Western world, such as discussions about abortion or same-sex marriage.

Milieu.
BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW plays in an environment that exists everywhere. There is no large city in the world where Iraqis are not to be found. According to the UNHCR, 4.7 million Iraqis live in exile. Almost all of them come from the educated middle class. Most of them have settled in quickly, due to their knowledge of Western culture and their knowledge of the English language (Iraq was a British colony). They send their children to local schools, have found jobs, built up a network and are fully integrated in this sense. They live a diaspora existence marked by an unquenchable longing for their country of origin and the knowledge that they will never feel comfortable there again. Too great are the ramifications of the post-war turmoil, and the political landscape is dominated by religiously motivated parties whose interests diametrically oppose those of the secular middle classes.

Why London?
The largest Iraqi exile communities in Europe can be found in London, Paris, Sweden and Berlin. Due to the restrictive refugee policy, only about 6,000-7,000 Iraqis live in Switzerland. Most of them came in the 90s and were Kurds. There are only a few Iraqis of Arab descent and if I want to participate in political discussions about Iraqi politics, this is only possible through events in the above-mentioned cities or through social media.
For these reasons, a vivid diaspora culture has never developed in Switzerland. This situation applies not only to cities in Switzerland, but also to most cities in German-speaking countries. In contrast, London has always been a haven for Iraqi migrants. The most important reason is the United Kingdom's fifty-year colonial relationship with Iraq. As early as the twenties, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were sent to England to receive their education.
After the revolution of 1958, when the English-appointed king was deposed, the first wave of migrants came. These royalists established the foundations of a community, including magazines, clubs and shops. Following the military coup of 1963, the entire left-intellectual and communist opposition was driven into exile, finding it easiest to go to the country of their education. Paradoxically, they in turn built their structures on the existing network, founded by the royalists.
These waves of migration continued with every state crisis and every war (Kurdish revolt, Iran-Iraq war and the first and second invasion of the USA in Iraq). With time, about 3 million Iraqis came to live in the United Kingdom, 750,000 of them in London. There are now not only whole quarters, where almost only the Iraqi dialect can be heard, but also a whole infrastructure with shops, bookstores, theatres, newspapers and clubs. For this reason it is a highly attractive idea for Iraqi migrants who have integrated into Scandinavian, German or other European societies to immigrate to London. For all these reasons, it seemed only logical to set the film in a location outside the German-speaking world, as it would not reflect the reality there. Finally, there was also a need for additional financial means. If this film wanted to meet the demands of the international market, it had to be financially well set up. Obtaining financing in Switzerland alone was not enough. This resulted in the necessity of an international co-production. With Germany (Coin Film) and England (Ipso Facto Productions) as co-production partners, the foundation for an international exploitation of the film was laid.

Living with prejudices.
In exile, most Muslims live a paradoxical life. On the one hand, as educated migrants who have had to deal intensively with their surroundings, they usually know more about their host country than the locals. On the other hand, every day they are constantly reminded that the people around them regard them with prejudice and bias. They know that they are associated with IS, extremism, bombs, fanatical preachers, veiled women, etc., but they are tired of always having to justify themselves and confirming that they have nothing to do with it. This rejection results in a silent insult, which leads to the Iraqis staying among themselves and so there are indeed in almost every city in the West Iraqi clubs or restaurants and cafes where mainly Iraqis meet.

Parallel society.
This word has been repeatedly used in recent years to politically assert conservative values. If I put myself in the perspective of an original Western European, then I can understand that, seen from the outside, gatherings of Orientals seem like a parallel society. Somehow these people live in their own rituals. They speak their language and cultivate their customs, which seem to have nothing in common with the surrounding society.
For someone like me who is familiar with this parallel society, the claim that these foreigners cannot be integrated is absurd. If they didn’t, they would not be able to survive in a society alien to them. Usually the problem is a linguistic one, because in every society there are various parallel societies. The only question is whether they are accepted, as is the case, for example, with the employees of large global corporations who speak only English to one another, send their children to exclusive international schools and meet in clubs reserved for them.
BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW shows a parallel society in which there is friction between the characters with all their internal contradictions, and where they strive to come to terms with the society around them. They fight against the narrow-minded traditional rules of their country of origin, using the freedom that prevails in the host country. The honest representation of their contradictions and their struggles to overcome them is intended to create empathy towards the characters and to stem the tide of the prevailing negative discourse of exclusion. We experience people who have rough edges and flaws, but with whom we become familiar nevertheless, we get to know their dreams and goals, and we root for them when things get tight.
Thus, their world becomes ours for a short time and we are given a window on a culture, a milieu, a subset of our own society, one which would otherwise be hotly debated, which we would project our fears onto; which we instrumentalise for political purposes or marginalise as a parallel society.

Topicality.
From this point of view and in the knowledge of the political topicality – both in Iraq and in Europe and Switzerland – this film has become more important than ever to me. It should not only act as a bridge-builder for us to understand a different culture, but also hold up a mirror to us and let us question our own post-colonial European arrogance. This film is intended to show us that it is people like you and me who, on the basis of their own prejudices, fear and ignorance, we have to pigeonhole and prematurely associate with religious extremism.
The film should also show us the variety within this specific milieu and at the same time let us discover that the reasons for a development towards extremism are sometimes closer to us than we would wish and admit (keyword: Jihad tourism ex Europe).

On the subject.
In our globalised time, in which paradoxically xenophobia is on the rise, we need a film like BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW. Although the Internet now gives everyone the opportunity to find out about everything, the advance of media tabloidisation has led to a flourishing of prejudices about "strangers" and "others". It is almost impossible for many – even liberal – people to imagine that the majority of people from an Islamic country have as much or as little to do with religion as they have. On the other hand, the pressure of the religious forces in the Arab world has become so strong that they force modern and liberal people to stop expressing themselves, even if they live an open life. In this context, taboos were erected that were once up for debate in the 1970s.

Taboos.
In BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW, the two thematic complexes of religion and sexuality manifest themselves, as three taboos of Arab society are treated, which are told in individual stories: For example in the godlessness of Taufiq, or in his rejection of the claim of religion to dominate society. In the adultery of Amal, who fights for a woman's right to her sexuality. As also in the lived homosexuality of Muhanad, who has deep within himself the wish to be able to live out his erotic inclination freely and openly like all the others.

Biography of the Director/s
Born in 1955 in Baghdad, Iraq. Migrated with his family to Switzerland in the 60s. After studying at the School of Arts in Zurich, apprenticeship as a typographer. In the late 70s, training as a cameraman. Activist in the radical youth movement in the early 80s in Zurich. First works as freelance author and director in 1982.
Today Samir is well known for his unique fiction, documentary and experimental films, whose innovative character drew attention at various festivals and won numerous awards. His work to this day encompasses more than 40 short and full-length feature films for cinema and television. In the 90s he also worked as a director for national and international broadcasters.
In 1994, he took over Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion with filmmaker Werner Schweizer and producer Karin Koch. Based in Zurich, it builds up new Swiss film talents. Beside his own projects as an independent producer and director, he regularly directs theatre plays and works in the field of visual arts.

Filmography of the Director/s
As author/director (selection):
2019 BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW
2014 IRAQI ODYSSEY, doc.
2010 THE TRAIN STATION AND ITS ANGEL, doc.
2005 SNOW WHITE
2002 FORGET BAGHDAD, doc.
1998 PROJECZIUNS TIBETANAS doc. short
1997 ANGELIQUE, short
1993 BABYLON 2, doc.
1991 ALWAYS & FOREVER
1988 FILOU
1986 MORLOVE

Awards Won
Audience Award - Arabian Sights FF Washington, DC
Prix du Public - Solothurner Filmtage

Production Company:
Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG
Sophia Rubischung
Molkenstrasse
Zurich, 8004, Switzerland
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +41 444563020
Website: http://www.dvfilm.ch/

World Sales:
Global Screen GmbH
Claudia Rudolph-Hartmann
Sonnenstrasse 21
Munich, 80331, Germany
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +49 892441295500

Press:
Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG
Molkenstrasse 21
Zurich, 8004, Switzerland
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +41 444563020