I Kids
I Books 32 I LGBT 62 I Clubs 35 I Music 63
Comedy 41 I Theatre 81 I Film 43 I Visual Art 87
Iraqis in the reel world
This year's month-long Reel Festival attempts to uncover the Iraq behind the headlines. Kirstin lnnes speaks to the organisers
he point of (‘harlie Brooker‘s excellent .Vr'li'yli'l/H' series. which ended recently. seemed to be that. far frotn being an honest and agenda-free information source. the news is just as much a constructed test as. say. a novel or a film.
:\nd for most people in Scotland. their idea of
countries like Iraq and .'\fghanistan will be filtered through that constructed te\t. We understand Iraq as a site of bombings and conflict \oices like the (iiiun/iun‘s ‘Baghdad Blogget” Salaam I’ax. we do not. on the whole. imagine it as a country
where people live and breathe and go about their
daily lives.
'Yeah. when you mention Iraq. most people think of
militias and suicide bombers.‘ says Dan (iorman. the programmer of Iidinburgh‘s two month-long Reel Iraq festival. which starts today. 'But. at the same time as all that is happening. there are still all these artists existing there. and making work. A lot of them are refugees now. but that doesn‘t tnake their work
any less valuable. They‘ve all got stories to tell of their own to offer. and we want to give them space for
those stories in he heard.
The idea behind the Reel Iraq festival (the same company organised Reel Afghanistan. a celebration of Afghani cinema. last yearl is to offer its a chance to experience different perspectives on the country ~ through the work of its filmmakers. writers. musicians. artists and academics.
despite the efforts of
"This year the festival is bigger than Reel Afghanistan. We‘re not just concentrating on cinema. either: we've got lectures. discussions and literary reading by some of the best Iraqi writers. because we wanted to give people the chance to really engage with the topics and issues raised.‘
Ilighlights of the festival include a lecture series tracing the history of the country. James Longley's cinematic optis Iraq in l’rugmvnls (pictured). appearances frotn novelists Sinan Antoon and Ilussain al-.\1o/any. and. on Saturday. a concert featuring Iiarida and the Iraqi Maqam Iinsemble. one of the most important groups in the country promoting the traditional maqam form.
"I‘he concert's going to be ama/ing.’ says (iorman. "I‘he support act. the Babylon Arabic Band. are a Iitlinburgh-based group put together by an Iraqi living in Scotland. I like the way the concert links together the Scottish Iraqi population with that scattered around the world.
“We really want to involve the whole community. have them cotne along. chat to each other and think about the issues raised. That's all we want to do. We‘re not trying to put forward any particular angle. or agenda: just to give as honest and complete a portrayal of that country as possible.'
Reel Iraq, Thu 14 May-Sun 12 Jul, various venues, Edinburgh. See www.reelfestivals.org
HAM“ 3““,4) 9,5 pug.
‘4? Dennlstoun Wild Goose Chase Arty and sporty sideshows in various venues throughout the upcoming East End community. Various venues, Dennistoun, Glasgow, Sat 76 May.
‘li Live Through This: Performance Performance about the position of the female artist and the way women can use creativity and art to survive depression and mental illness. In association with Ladyfest Edinburgh. The Bowery, Edinburgh, Sat 16 May.
>' Argentine Tango A demonstration of the sexy and passionate Argentine tango. followed by the opportunity to try it out for your (sexy and passionate) self. Kelvingrove Art Gallery 8. Museum, Glasgow, Sun 7 7 May.
"/5 The Second Arthur Conan Doyle: Edinburgh and Medicine Conference Conference celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birth on 22nd May 1859. Fioyal College Of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Fri 22 8 Sat 23 May
it Southslde Festival Second year of the annual clamjamfray across the Clyde. See page 30. Various venues in the Souths/d9, Glasgow, Sat 23 8. Sun 24 May.
>i< Glasgow Subway Festival . . . and you can get there by hopping on the subway. along with assorted showgirls and performers. See feature. page 27. Glasgow Underground, Sat 23 8 Sun 24 May.
14-28 May 2009 Till LIST 29