''Dawn of the World'' is a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

written and directed by the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i-French film director Abbas Fahdel. Starring

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

revelation Hafsia Herzi (''

The Secret of the Grain ''The Secret of the Grain'' (french: La graine et le mulet), titled ''Couscous'' in the UK, is a 2007 Franco-Tunisian drama film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. The film stars Habib Boufares as an aging immigrant from the Maghreb whose ambition to ...

'') and Hiam Abbass ('' The Lemon Tree'', '' The Visitor''), ''Dawn of the World'' gives an unexpected account of the multiple impacts of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

, the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and the

1991 uprisings in Iraq The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings in Iraq led by Shi'ites and Kurds against Saddam Hussein. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoord ...

. The film shows how these conflicts have damaged an area claimed to be the geographic location of the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan- Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and Ezekiel 28 ...

. * French title: ''L'Aube du monde'' *

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

title: فجر العالم

Plot

The

Mesopotamian Marshes The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, ...

, at the delta of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

and

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

rivers, in the south of

. This is where Mastour and Zahra, two young

Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs ( ar, عرب الأهوار ''ʻArab al-Ahwār'' "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as the Maʻdān ( ar, معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog (Iraqi ar, شروق, "those from the east")—the latter two often ...

, grow up. Shortly after their marriage, Mastour and Zahra are forced to separate when the

breaks out. On the battlefield, Mastour befriends Riad, a young soldier from

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 ...

. Mortally wounded, Mastour makes Riad promise to protect Zahra when the war is over. When Riad arrives in the village, he falls deeply in love with Zahra. But unable to bear the loss of her husband, Zahra shuts herself off. In this completely foreign environment that is hostile to this newcomer, and as a new conflict is on the verge of inflaming the whole area, Riad will do the impossible to find his place.

Screenplay

Before being brought to the screen, the screenplay of ''Dawn of the World'' won th
Grand Prix for the Best Screenwriter
Grand Prix du Meilleur Scénariste) in France. Drafted by th
éQuinoxe screenwriters' workshops
the screenplay was read and discussed over a week, in Paris, by a group of directors and screenwriters.

Music

The original music is composed by German

Jürgen Knieper Jürgen Knieper (born 14 March 1941) is a German film score composer. Born in Karlsruhe, he was educated at Berlin's State High School of Music. Career He began working for director Wim Wenders with his 1972 film ''The Goalkeeper's Fear of the ...

. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

includes Massive Attack's song ''

Hymn of the Big Wheel ''Blue Lines'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "T ...

'' (album '' Blue Lines'') and two songs of the Palestinian singer

Rim Banna Rim Banna ( ar, ريم بنا; 8 December 1966 – 24 March 2018) was a Palestinian singer and composer who was most known for her modern interpretations of traditional Palestinian songs and poetry. Banna was born in Nazareth, where she graduate ...

: ''Jammal'' and ''Ya Lel Ma Atwalak'' (album ''

Lullabies from the Axis of Evil ''Lullabies from the Axis of Evil'' (2004) is an album collecting traditional lullabies sung by women from Iraq, Iran, and North Korea ("the axis of evil"), as well as Syria, Libya, and Cuba ("beyond the axis of evil"), plus Afghanistan and Palest ...

'').

Cast

Hafsia Herzi Hafsia Herzi (born 25 January 1987) is a French actress and film director. She is best known for her debut role in the award-winning Franco-Tunisian feature ''The Secret of the Grain'' for which she won the award for most promising actress at the ...

as Zahra *

Karim Saleh Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

as Riad * Hiam Abbass as Mastour's mother * Waleed Abou El Magd as Mastour * Sayed Ragab as Hadji Noh

Awards

* Great Prize of the Jury,

Rabat International Film Festival Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

, 2009. * Best Film Award,

Gulf Film Festival A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

, 2009. * Audience Award and

NETPAC The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...

Award,

Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (French: Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia. The festival is held annually in Vesoul, France. It was crea ...

, 2009. * Best Film Award, 20th Fameck Arab Film Festival, 2009. * Best Screenplay Award, 9th

Beirut International Film Festival A growing number of film festivals are held in the Arab world to showcase films from the region as well as international standouts. In addition, institutions and organizations in other parts of the world are increasingly honoring the new generation ...

, 2009
Grand Prix for the best scriptwriter
(Grand Prix du Meilleur Scénariste, SOPADIN), France. * Best screenplay Award (Trophée du Premier Scénario, Centre National de la Cinématographie), France. * The Shield of the Ministry of Culture, Iraq, 2010. * Honorary Diploma of the Ministry of Culture, Iraq, 2010. * Best Actor Award (Karim Saleh), Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, 2010.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawn Of The World 2008 films Iraqi drama films French war drama films German war drama films Gulf War films Films set in Iraq Films set in Baghdad 2000s Arabic-language films Films directed by Abbas Fahdel Marsh Arabs Films scored by Jürgen Knieper 2000s French films 2000s German films