Baghdad Blogger

DIR: Salam Pax | Iraq | 2004 | 90min
In English and Arabic with English subtitles.

SHOWTIMES:
Thurs. Sept. 23 | 8:45pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 5
Wed. Oct. 6 | 7:15pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 2
Thurs. Oct. 7 | 1:40pm | Granville 7 Cinema, Theatre 5

Baghdad Blogger is not a feature-length documentary in the traditional sense. It's a series of 10-minute video segments produced for broadcast on the BBC by an Iraqi citizen who has been writing a hugely popular blog since September 2002. His nom electronique is Salam Pax (both words mean peace in Arabic and Latin) and his on-camera persona and narration are as funny, insightful and energetic as his web writings*. Though each segment explores a different facet of contemporary life in Iraq, and the segments were not created as part of a larger work, the pieces do have a remarkably cohesive flow. They start off with the general, swerve into humour, get serious, build on that seriousness, swerve in beauty and ultimately leave you with a sense of what it could be like to be on the streets for an Iraqi today.

Watching the first round of the Bush-Kerry debates this week, which focused largely on Iraq, i was struck by how poorly the candidates seem to understand the deeply-rooted cultural complexities within Iraq. This basic fragility within Iraq's nationhood is Pax's central theme throughout the film and he illustrates it powerfully through his choice of subjects and his reflections. He sees this moment in time as full of possibilities for the country, both exciting and terrifying. It's a refreshingly rounded perspective that has been otherwise absent from the dreary and/or ridiculousy pro-American media coverage i've seen so far.

Thankfully, though Pax is working for one of the most prestigious television news outlets in the world, he approaches the Media as a bit of an outsider and a concerned Iraqi citizen first. Of course, like any thinking person, Pax also uses the opportunity to make fun of the Americans - that's just the cherry on top. VIFF had the good sense to schedule three screenings of this marvelous work, the last of which is this afternoon.

* Though Pax' writings have recently been published in print, you can read them live on his blogs shut up you fat whiner! and Where is Raed?