GFF 2011: Son of Babylon

Mohamed Al Daradji follows Ahlaam’s flashbacks and dreams with a straightforward road movie of sorts. In Son of Babylon, a young boy and his grandmother search for his missing father, aided by, amongst others, a cigarette-selling street urchin and a repentant former member of the Republican Guard.

In a newly post-Saddam Iraq, they naturally encounter American soldiers as well, but the occupation is far from the focus. Helicopters buzz overhead, while fires and debris scar the streets of Baghdad, but the war is a background inconvenience at most – Al Daradji’s evident anger is directed elsewhere.

This devastating indictment of the former dictator’s legacy – a million missing; 250,000 bodies dug from the earth thus far – is desperately sad, the soundtrack filled with the anguished ululating of grieving mothers and widows, the character’s journey a series of mass graves. But the sadness has purpose: visit the Iraq’s Missing campaign to find out how you can help.