by Ahmed Abed Ali Jasim from Baghdad
The Fifth Story

Ahmed was born in Baghdad in 1994. He started his filmmaking career with the Independent Iraqi Film Centre, which is headed by Muhamed Al-Daraji. Ahmed worked with Muhamed Al-Daraji on his long feature film Journey as a trained assistant. Ahmed also wrote film scripts and edited several short documentary films for various companies in Iraq. At the moment, he is working on completing his long documentary The Fifth Story, which Spotlight Iraq has funded.

As assistant director for films and documentaries, Ahmed has the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. He is fascinated with the stories of ordinary Iraqis who lived through decades of war. Ahmed grew up in Iraq, witnessing destruction and conflict. Like many young men of his generation, he often thought of either leaving Iraq or taking up arms with militias. Instead, he chose to document and tell the stories of ordinary Iraqis because their lives, their suffering, and their struggles are nearly identical to Ahmed’s. He sees himself in their eyes and considers their stories as his own: the story of fear, war and revolt.

The project

The documentary is based on the stories of ordinary Iraqis from different generations who have all witnessed and experienced the events in Iraq’s recent history. It tells the story of four decades of war, fear, and revolutions. It speaks to the young generation about their problems, hopes, fears and dreams. It calls for revolution because it is the only solution against corruption and oppression in Iraq. The shooting will take place in Baghdad, Shengal and Mosul, covering stories of the various people living in those areas.
 
Producer Louay Hafar, who spent several years working with Aljazeera on documentary films, will work on this project as an independent producer. He holds a master’s in Social Sciences and Media.