Pictures from Iraq is a 2022 documentary by Scottish filmmaker Robbie Fraser and Scottish photojournalist David Pratt that follows Pratt revisiting locations in Iraq that he reported during 1991, and during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
| Pictures from Iraq | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robbie Fraser and David Pratt |
| Cinematography | Robbie Fraser |
Production company | Dulcimer Films |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
Plot summary
editPictures from Iraq follows Pratt as he returns to Mosul, Qayyarah, Kirkuk and Erbil in the autonomous Kurdish region.[1][2]
In the documentary David Pratt meets Major General Sirwan Barzani, women politicians in the Kurdistan Freedom Party, and journalist Urban Hamid.[1][3]
The documentary jumps between recent footage shot by Robbie Fraser, archival 1991 and 2003 footage of David Pratt in Iraq, and 2003 photography by Pratt.[1][3] It includes footage of the moment that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi announced the formation of the Islamic State.[1]
Production
editProduction of the film was funded by Screen Scotland, BBC Persian, BBC Scotland, and Terranoa (Fraser's company).[1][4] The film is produced and directed by Fraser and Pratt.[5] It is a sequel to Fraser's 2020 documentary Pictures from Afghanistan that also featured Pratt (although he was not a director of that documentary.)[6][5][7]
To reduce the number of meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the producers filmed Pictures from Iraq and the upcoming Pictures from the Balkans in the same four week window.[4] The style of the production was influenced by Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.[4]
Release
editPictures from Iraq was first screened at the Glasgow Film Festival in March 2022.[5][8]
Critical reception
editThe footage is described by The Herald as evocative,[1] and by documentary reviewer Geoffrey Macnab as distressing.[4]
Paul Trainer, writing in Glasgowist, described it as "a fascinating, highly personal journey."[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Top photojournalist David Pratt on his return to "troubled, tortured, tangled" Iraq". HeraldScotland. March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "PICTURES FROM... | Terranoa". www.terranoa.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ a b Meehan, Abbie (2022-06-23). "Scottish journalist to be honoured in new BBC Scotland documentary". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ^ a b c d Macnab, Geoffrey (2022-03-08). "Glasgow FF: Pictures from Iraq by Robbie Fraser". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
- ^ a b c "Depicting the futility of war: David Pratt on his Pictures from Iraq film". The National. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ "Pictures from Iraq". Glasgow Film Festival. 2022.
- ^ "David Pratt's 'Pictures From Iraq' tell stories of what war means". The National. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Yossman, K. J. (2022-01-27). "Christina Ricci's 'Monstrous' Gets World Premiere at Glasgow Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
- ^ Trainer, Paul (2022-02-13). "Talk of the Town: The 18th Glasgow Film Festival". Glasgowist. Retrieved 2022-05-18.