War, Love, God & Madness

In 2003 the Baghdad-born film director Mohamed Al-Daradji returned to his country to shoot his feature Ahlaam. It was to be the second feature shot in Iraq in the post-Saddam Hussein era. The fall of the tyrant brought a hope of a freer society and the director wanted to make a cultural contribution to this new attainment with his film. Circumstances in chaotic Iraq were however very difficult and dangerous, if not suicidal. There was hardly any equipment, there was absolutely no guarantee of security while shooting and crew members, including the director himself, were arrested and tortured. But their determination finally prevailed and in the end the final cut of Ahlaam found its way to dozens of international festivals and the director received many prizes. War, Love, God & Madness starts when Al-Daradji in 2007 is finally on his way to show the film to his colleagues in Iraq. Then the film looks back: a breathtaking report of the production process of Ahlaam as a prelude to the first real screening in the National Theatre in Baghdad. With its improvised form and unpredictable course the documentary reflects the incredible risks confronting film makers in 'liberated' Iraq. In this way, the almost impossible film adventure becomes a gauge for civilian courage and for the overwhelming social and political chaos in which this manifests itself, often at a very high personal price.