FORGET BAGHDAD

A film reflecting upon the clichés of "the Jew" and "the Arab" in the last hundred years of cinema, combined with the biographies of some extraordinary individuals: Iraqi-Jewish communists. Shimon Ballas, Professor of Arabic in Tel Aviv, is involved in the pro-Palestinian peace and civil rights movement. Sami Michael, one of Israel's most famous best-selling authors. Moshe (Moussa) Houri, a wealthy kiosk owner and building contractor in a Tel Aviv suburb. Samir Naqqash, the only one of the four who still writes in Arabic. His works of literature have brought him critical acclaim and quite a number of prizes but publishers these days are no longer interested in bringing out his books - neither those in the Arab world nor those in Israel.

Over the years, Samir -- himself the child of Iraqi immigrants in Switzerland -- has focused on the issues of alienation and the formation of identity in his films.

"Forget Baghdad takes a painfully ironic look at five Arab Jews caught up in a violent cultural identity clash. It casts a cold light on racial intolerance in Iraq, where four of the films subjects where born, and Israel, where they now live. (...) This eye-opening doc is sure to provoke discussion."

Deborah Young, Variety