Screening – The Poet of Baghdad
The Poet of Baghdad – Enemy of the State tells the story of one of Iraq’s most famous poets, Nabeel Yasin. When a young man in Iraq, officers from Saddam Hussein’s regime stamped the words Enemy of the State on Nabeel’s passport, because of his politically sensitive poems. Unable to work or leave the country his family were repeatedly arrested and tortured.
In 1980, after a series of attempts on his life, Nabeel escaped into exile. His epic poem Brother Yasin Again, a sequel to the controversial Brother Yasin, written in 1974, was smuggled into Iraq. It became an underground anthem of resistance against Saddam’s rule. He returned to Iraq after Saddam’s overthrow to help put his shattered country back together.
Director Georgie Weedon
Producer Paul Dosaj
DOP Tom Swindell
Editor Johnny Burke
Executive Producers Flora Gregory, Ingrid Falke and Thomas Benski
Producer Paul Dosaj
DOP Tom Swindell
Editor Johnny Burke
Executive Producers Flora Gregory, Ingrid Falke and Thomas Benski
Nabeel Yasin, Poet and Founder of The Cultural Transition to Democracy in Iraq Conference
Nabeel is an acclaimed Iraqi poet who fled the country in 1979 with his family. He lives in the UK but makes frequent trips back to his homeland.
Georgie Weedon, Director
Georgie Weedon the founder of Gingerwink Film and is a filmmaker and author based in London. She has produced and directed documentary and drama films in Somalia, Kosovo, Jordan, UK, Egypt and Palestine. Georgie spent four years as part of the launch team at the international news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera English where she helped develop the daily documentary show Witness through commissioning, acquiring and producing documentaries. In 2009, Georgie was selected for the Athena Producers course and will be mentored by the British Film Industry into taking her first feature film projects in development to the Berlin Film Festival 2010.
