By AK News
reported by Rana Zebari
reported by Rana Zebari
An Iraqi director has produced a movie looking at the displacement of Iraqi Christians that depicts the atrocities committed against them in the escalation of violence in Iraq following the 2003 allied invasion.
“Displaced from Homeland” first sheds light on the emergence of Christianity in Iraq and the historic relations between the Christians and Muslims in the country. It then examines the escalation of violence after 2003 and the targeting of Iraq’s Christian community.
Speaking of his film which has recently been subtitled in English, Iraqi director Farid Akrayia said: “The idea of the film started back in 2006 with the displacement of the Christians from the Dora district, and the subsequent killings and forced displacements of the Christians in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk and the later incident at the Sayida al Najat Church.”
The Sayida al-Najat Church in Baghdad’s central Karrada district was seized by gunmen on October 31 last year. Armed clashes between the security forces and the insurgents ensued in which 40 people were killed and 65, mainly women and children, were injured.
Akrayia said that “Displaced from Homeland” has already been screened at several international institutions such as the IRS in Stockholm, the Westminster Institute in Washington and the Roger Williams University on Rhodes Island.
“The goal of the film is for our voice to reach the US congress,” he said, adding that any decision taken by the Iraqi government is “in the hands of the US”.
Among Akrayi’s cinematic successes is the 1994 film “The Expatriate” which also deals with the displacement of populations, and a later movie “The Little Dictator” about the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s son Uday.
“Displaced from Homeland” first sheds light on the emergence of Christianity in Iraq and the historic relations between the Christians and Muslims in the country. It then examines the escalation of violence after 2003 and the targeting of Iraq’s Christian community.
Speaking of his film which has recently been subtitled in English, Iraqi director Farid Akrayia said: “The idea of the film started back in 2006 with the displacement of the Christians from the Dora district, and the subsequent killings and forced displacements of the Christians in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk and the later incident at the Sayida al Najat Church.”
The Sayida al-Najat Church in Baghdad’s central Karrada district was seized by gunmen on October 31 last year. Armed clashes between the security forces and the insurgents ensued in which 40 people were killed and 65, mainly women and children, were injured.
Akrayia said that “Displaced from Homeland” has already been screened at several international institutions such as the IRS in Stockholm, the Westminster Institute in Washington and the Roger Williams University on Rhodes Island.
“The goal of the film is for our voice to reach the US congress,” he said, adding that any decision taken by the Iraqi government is “in the hands of the US”.
Among Akrayi’s cinematic successes is the 1994 film “The Expatriate” which also deals with the displacement of populations, and a later movie “The Little Dictator” about the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s son Uday.