Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection

Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection
Directed by	Samir
Written by	Samir
Produced by	Samir Gerd Haag Karin Koch
Starring	Shimon Ballas Moshe Houri
Cinematography	Nurit Aviv Philippe Bellaiche
Edited by	Samir Nina Schneider
Music by	Rabih Abou-Khalil
Production company	Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG
Distributed by	Arab Film Distribution
Release dates	November 21, 2002 (2002-11-21) (Switzerland) March 13, 2003 (2003-03-13) (Germany)
Countries	Germany Switzerland
Languages	English Arabic Hebrew

Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection is a 2002 documentary film about the Mizrahim, or Jewish community of Iraq. It was written and directed by Samir, an Iraqi born in Baghdad in 1955 and living since 1961 in Switzerland.

The film focuses on five expatriate Iraqi Jews, most living in Israel: Shimon Ballas, Moshe (Moussa) Houri, Sami Michael, Samir Naqqash, and Ella Habiba Shohat.

The film's music is by Rabih Abou-Khalil. It was produced by Karin Koch and Samir and edited by Nina Schneider and Samir. The directors of photography were Nurith Aviv and Philippe Bellaiche.

The film was a coproduction between TagTraum Cologne, Gerd Haag, SF DRS, Teleclub, and Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion. It is 112 minutes in length.

The DVD, which is distributed by Arab Film Distribution, comes with a 30-minute "Making of the film" featurette. The DVD has multiple audio tracks and subtitles in English, German, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish.

Reception

• A fascinating but disorganized documentary.
  – Stephen Holden, The New York Times, December 4, 2003
• Grainy video and gimmicky editing give this documentary an amateurish feel, but Samir's charming, rueful interlocutors shine through.
  – Anya Kamenetz, Village Voice, December 2, 2003
• Samir's presentation is uninspired and too long. It's outdated, too.
  – V.A. Musetto, New York Post, December 5, 2003
• Explores identity, but words get in the way.
  – Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post, April 16, 2004
• Timely and thought-provoking, if a bit rambling.
  – Deborah Young, Variety, December 23, 2003

See also

• History of the Jews in Iraq

External links

• Official website
• Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection at IMDb
• Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection at Rotten Tomatoes