Irkalla - Gilgamesh's Dream

Director: Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji

Cast:  Youssef Husham Al-Thahabi, Hussein Raad Zuwayr, Samar Kazem Jawad, Ameer Jabarah

A heartbreaking tale with glimpses of hope for the Baghdad children left behind after the war.

In the labyrinthine streets of Baghdad, orphaned and homeless children roam aimlessly with nothing to rely on but each other. In a world of scarcity, some children like Moody (Hussein Raad Zuwayr) are lured by the empty promises of the armed militia, while others like nine-year-old dreamer Chum-Chum (Youssef Husham Al-Thahabi) find a rare sliver of hope in dreaming. Drawn to the Tigris River and the ancestral myth of Gilgamesh, Chum-Chum sets out on a journey to bring his parents back to life in this bittersweet epic from Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, a heartbreaking but hopeful tale on the power of myth and memory. (ISRA AL KASSI)