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Logline

After accidentally cursing President Saddam Hussein on stage, theatre actor Salem convinces a military court of his insanity to escape a death sentence. Exiled to a psychiatric hospital in Baghdad during the final months before Saddam’s fall, Salem must navigate his sanity, knowing that the execution awaits if the doctor declares him mentally fit.

Synopsis

After accidentally insulting President Saddam Hussein on stage during a performance of Hamlet, theatre actor Salem faces a looming death sentence. To escape execution, he continues playing the role of Hamlet, feigning insanity, and is sent to a psychiatric hospital, where his condition awaits evaluation. Trapped in a facility filled with the lost souls of Saddam’s regime, Salem must navigate a precarious balance between his will to survive and the fear of genuinely losing his sanity.

Salem catches the attention of the hospital director, who becomes increasingly wary of his growing influence over the patients. But, he finds an unexpected ally in Adyan, a young, ambitious, and deeply committed psychiatrist tasked with assessing his condition. Adyan, however, faces a moral dilemma: remain loyal to her duty, deliver an honest verdict and secure her promotion, or risk everything to save Salem. They defy institutional norms and stage a play with the patients. What begins as a simple exercise of Salem’s diagnosis and patients’ therapy gradually evolves into rebellion, garnering significant attention within the hospital.

The performance becomes an unexpected triumph, drawing so much attention that it reaches Saddam Hussein, who grants Salem a presidential certificate of appreciation, officially declaring him insane.

Meet the Filmmakers

Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji — Writer/Director/
Is an award-winning Iraqi, Uk-based writer-director. In 2015, his short film Children of God brought him the Muhr award for Best Arab Short, the Fabrisci award, the Seoul Guro award for Best Live Action Short, and the Jury Award at the Disabled Film Festival in Cannes. Ahmed’s debut feature film, Hanging Gardens, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. The film earned the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film and the Yusr Award for Best Cinematic Achievement at the Red Sea Film Festival, among other prestigious awards. The crowning achievement for Ahmed is the selection of Hanging Gardens to represent Iraq at the 96th Academy Awards competition.

Maytham Jbara — Lead Producer
Maytham is an Iraqi-Toronto based film writer and producer from a family of filmmakers in Baghdad. He honed his skills studying Cinema and Television at the University of Baghdad and attending numerous workshops on various aspects of film production. In 2022-2023 Maytham was selected for the Accelerator Fellowship and the European Audio-Visual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) On Demand Access Program for Producers presented by the National Screen Institute and Canada Media Fund. Maytham’s work includes an award winning feature film Hanging Gardens by Ahmed Yassin, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, numerous short films and severalnfeature films in development.

Most of Maytham’s projects have been granted funding and awards by various international and Canadian institutions and funds, among them Ontario and Toronto Art Councils, Telefilm Canada, Red Sea Film Festival, Beirut DC with ART, and others.

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Contact

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