Mohammad Al Daradji is best known for his film The Son of Babylon, which was showcased in at ADFF last year. His latest project, In My Mother's Arms, is a joint venture with Atea Al Daradji and follows the plight of Husham, an Iraqi psychologist who struggles to take care of 32 Iraqi orphans with very little funds or help from the government.
How did you come across this story?
Atea got a call from some friends asking if he could donate to a cause. When he found out about the orphanage and saw how they lived, he realised he needed to do something about it. He took some footage, contacted me and from there we got involved.
How did Husham get involved with the children?
Following the war in 2003, Husham, a psychologist, saw the chaos around Baghdad and saw a lot of children on the street. He organised for the children to have a place in Baghdad and worked with them there.
How did you choose the two main characters?
It was very tough. All the children have similar stories and can sing and dance. With Saif it was a coincidence. We saw him fighting in the beginning and we decided to follow his story.
With Mohammad, we saw the archive of when his parents died and since he was one of the oldest, he was an interesting story.
What is Husham's hope for these children?
Husham wishes to have these children adopted so they can have a future. The most difficult thing he faces is when the children reach 18 years. After that he doesn't know their future, but he has tried to help them by giving them a good education and hopefully find a job for them.
A big problem is a lot of them lost some years of education, so they are behind in their schooling. Mohammad has said he would like to be in the film industry, so we'll try and help him there.
We are campaigning with Husham so he can get a piece of land and set up a proper orphanage for the children, as they're still crammed into a three-bedroom house.
Why did you decide to shoot the documentary using shaky and out of focus shots?
The idea behind it was to do make the film in raw footage style. We didn't want to use clear, beautiful imagery because we wanted to reflect the situation, which wasn't luxury.
What has happened to the orphanage now?
Shortly after the film they received some funding from a Sunni organisation, but now their one-year contract and funding is finished.
Recently the organisation managed to find an Iraqi businessman who can sponsor them for another year.
How has the response been both in the film's first showing in Toronto and at the ADFF?
The response has been amazing. After the screenings, a lot of people came up to us saying they wanted to make donation and even tried to adopt some of the children. However, from what I know from Husham, he doesn't want the children to be adopted outside Iraq.
The two main characters have also been present in the screenings here in Abu Dhabi. What kind of experience has that been for them?
This is Mohammad's first time in Abu Dhabi. Saif came last year. For both of them it's been amazing to see the film and they've both been crying a lot. Watching the film, Saif was crying because he was reminded of how he was bullied at first at the orphanage.
Are you working on anything new?
I am working on a new film, Train Station. It's about a female suicide bomber who kills 28 people on a train. The film is about what was in her mind 90 seconds before she dies.
