Santa Claus in Baghdad
Friday, January 23
6:30 PM, Lecture Hall 5
Raouf Zaki / 2008 / US / 28 minutes
A family-friendly film about Iraq
Co-Sponsored by (Re)Imaginging the Middle East Academic Program
From the bustling streets of Baghdad and the dreams of two Iraqi children -- a little boy who wants nothing more than a toy car and his teenage sister who desperately needs medicine -- come an unlikely Christmas story. Rich in the textural sounds, images, and characters of modern day Iraq, Raouf Zaki’s Santa Claus in Baghdad, a film shot in Massachusetts, tells a story that crosses ethnic and religious lines in a resounding message of hope and understanding.
Based on the book “Figs and Fate: Stories about Growing up in the Arab World” by Elsa Marston, Santa Claus in Baghdad tells the story of an Iraqi surviving UN/US imposed sanctions in Iraq circa 2000. It’s a story about sacrifices, the social or der of society, and the the power of a simple gift. Amal is a sixteen-year old girl who has fallen a year behind in school due to illness. When she learns that her favorite teacher is leaving, she recruits her classmates to decide on a going-away present for him. Meanwhile, her little brother, Bilal, thinks that their uncle, who will be visiting soon from the United States, is actually Santa Claus.