''In My Mother's Arms (Fi Ahdan Ummi)'' is a

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Iraqi film.

Written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

and

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

by Atia Al Daradji and

Mohamed Al-Daradji Mohamed Al-Darraji (born 6 August 1978 in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Iraqi Dutch, Iraqi-Dutch film director. He studied theater in Iraq, and cinematography and directing in England. He is known for his drama films, which focus on political affairs in the ...

, it stars Husham Al Thabe, Saif Slaam and Mohamed Wael; and was produced by Isabelle Stead and Atia Al Daradji. The film was screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in 2011.

Plot

Stead and Draadji filmed Husham Al Thabe Theas as he undertook a nine-month journey to support 32 orphans, and portrays the day-to-day life that these orphans lead in the small house that Husham rents and runs with donations from volunteers who share his intent. It shows the children laughing and playing, and it shows their times of despair. It portrays the troubles that Husham goes through in order to run his orphanage while supporting his own family. His troubles multiply when the house-owner asks Husham to leave the house. “In My Mother’s Arms” is the theme song of the film and is sung by the children to distract themselves from their misery.

Cast

* Husham Al Thabe as Husham Al Thabe * Saif Slaam as Saif Slaam * Mohamed Wael as Mohamed Wael

Political Context

After the fall of the

Saddam Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

regime and the American invasion of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of orphans had nowhere to go. Husham took it upon himself to support some of them. Living in the dangerous Sadr district of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Husham's experience is portrayed through this film.

The filmmakers

Atia Al Daradji and

were born in

and both have degrees from the Netherlands. They have made several films including ''Ahlaam'' (2006), '' Son of Babylon'' (2010) and ''Iraq: War, Love, God, Madness'' (2010). For the film '' Son of Babylon'',

was named Middle East Filmmaker of the Year in 2010.

External links

* *

References