Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2007)

In the late summer of 2006, in the middle of the insurgency, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Suroosh Alvi, Eddy Moretti

Writers:

Suroosh Alvi (narration writer), Bernardo Loyola (narration writer)

Stars:

Firas Al-Lateef, Suroosh Alvi, Marwan Reyad

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Firas Al-Lateef	...	Himself
Suroosh Alvi	...	Himself
Marwan Reyad	...	Himself
Faisal Talal	...	Himself

Storyline

In the late summer of 2006, in the middle of the insurgency, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is the story of the band and its members, young Iraqis whose lives have been distorted and displaced by years of continual warfare in their homeland. The filmmakers have collected glimpses into the struggles of Acrassicauda as they try to stay together and stay alive. Their struggle is the untold story of the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young Iraqis.

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Plot Keywords:

heavy metal | iraq | damascus syria | syria | refugee | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Music | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

23 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heavy Metal Bagdad

Filming Locations:

Baghdad, Iraq

Company Credits

Production Co:

VBS.TV, Vice Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color (HDCAM)

Did You Know?

Quotes

Marwan Reyad: For six years, man, we've been like bounded to that store. I remember all that shit, dude. This is a quite impressing movie that you filmed down there. You know what? We feel sad. We feel terribly fucking sad. This is a fucking sad scenes. Tragedy scenes. Seeing the country that you grew up in and all the people that you know that don't live anymore. Right now dead. These are the things that you lay your back on. These are things that you turn off the TV whenever, or like change the channel ...

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Connections

Edited into Imagine: Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2008)

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Soundtracks

Reso-1
Written and Performed by Five (as 5ive)
Courtesy of Tortuga Recordings

User Reviews

They Just Want To Rock Out (the perspective from within)

'Heavy Metal In Baghdad'is a documentary about the first & ONLY heavy metal band in Iraq (at least,so far). That band is/was Acrassicauda (Latin for 'The Black Scorpion'),a band that wants nothing more than to rock out. If they existed in America,Europe,Asia,or even parts of Africa,no problem. The fact that the band got their start prior to the American invasion of Iraq (or as most with half a brain referred it to an unprovoked attack by Fuhrer George II) only managed to make things worse. The band had to deal with ultra strict Islamic oppression (song lyrics had to be pro Sadam & pro Islam,shows had to end as early as seven o'clock,no women allowed at performances & a host of other related b.s.). Fellow Canadian documentary film makers,Eddy Moretti & Suroosh Alvi (Vice Guide To Travel),document their trip to Iraq to see if the members of Acrassicauda were still alive & performing (under extreme duress,as air travel was very dicey, where they had to take a plane to the far northern tip of Iraq & take a connecting flight into Baghdad,at great risk),and to see what conditions are like in post Sadam Iraq. Their brevity was rewarded. They meet up with the two surviving members with the band for a series of interviews (the other members had fled to Syria,and the other surviving members would eventually follow the following year). Through video footage of performances at various venues that they could actually play at,as well as personal insights by each band member,we get to know a bit more about their lives. This is a bleak, pessimistic film about several lives who have been exposed to way too much horror and death than one person should have to deal with. The interviews are spiked with anger & bitterness over what has happened to their beloved home country & the violence & hatred toward Iraqi's that has exploded with the subsequent U.S. invasion. Another eye opening documentary for those who have seen the well produced wave of anti war documentaries since all of this transpired. Spoken in English,Arabic & heavily accented English with English subtitles. Rated 'R'by the MPAA for pervasive strong language