Dawn of the World (2008)
"L'aube du monde" (original title)

The Mesopotamian Marshes, at the delta of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in the south of Iraq. This is where Mastour and Zahra grow up... See full synopsis »

Director:

Abbas Fahdel

Writer:

Abbas Fahdel

Stars:

Karim Saleh, Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karim Saleh	...	Riad
Hafsia Herzi	...	Zahra
Hiam Abbass	...	Mastour's mother
Sayed Ragab	...	Hadji Noh
Waleed Abou El Magd	...	Mastour
Mahmoud Nagui	...	Zingi
Mohamed Ali Keshta	...	Abou Ali
Nabil El Deeb	...	Cheik Jassim
Soheil Abdel Wahab	...	Iraqi officer
Mostafa Wagih	...	Hussein
Injy Ashour	...	Zingi's wife
Mina Soheil	...	Zahra - child
Amr Ossama	...	Mastour - child
Abou Baker Nounou	...	American soldier
Reem Rafaa	...	Oum Zoheir

Storyline

The Mesopotamian Marshes, at the delta of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in the south of Iraq. This is where Mastour and Zahra grow up... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

anti war | iraq iran war | war in iraq | iraq | lovers | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr]

Country:

Iraq France Germany

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

27 May 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

A madrugada do mundo

Filming Locations:

Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

€1,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

27 Films Production, ADR Productions, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (original 35 mm prints) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Ya Lel Ma Atwalak"
by Rim Banna
From the album "Lullabies from the Axis of Evil" (2003)
Courtesy of Kirkeling Kulturverksted (www.kkv.no)

User Reviews

The tragedy of the Marsh Arabs

A robust art film directed with an unquestionable talent, Dawn of the World is a journey through the unexplored Marshlands of Iraq and a moving war film about the tragedy of the Marsh Arabs (everybody knows about the Golf War, but nobody knows about the massacre of the Marsh Arabs!) The story is harrowing and the presentation is graphic. Powerful material, powerfully rendered. The director alternates the horrors of war with occasional fairy tale-like images; together they imbue the film with an unapologetically disturbing quality that persists long after the credits roll. One must not describe the sequence at the end. It must unfold as a surprise. It is unutterably depressing, because history can never undo itself, and is with us forever.