February is the month of film festivals, from the Berlinale to Rotterdam, and the Academy Awards. Khudair Alhimyari has drawn a series of cartoons on filmmaking in Iraq.
“I am looking at the conditions of working life in Iraq through its filmmakers,” says Alhimyari, “the complacency of the filmmakers in this cartoon is also a critical comment on the prevailing conditions of Iraqi society and daily life.”
Director: Let’s make a fantasy film.
Cameraman: What fantasy… we are already living in a fantasy world!
Director: What about an action film?
Cameraman: Can anything be more exciting than the action we experience in our lives?
Director: Then what about a film about criminal gangs?
Cameraman: nobody will watch it… the streets are full of criminal gangs.
Director: So, if we film our life, we will have a cocktail of fantasy, action and crime!!!
Filmmaker 1: Our movie industry needs equipment.
Government Official : Import it.
Filmmaker 1: It needs support.
Government Official : Import it.
Filmmaker 1: It needs know-how.
Government Official: Import it.
Filmmaker 2: (whispers) Don’t tell him that it needs an audience. He will import it.