Baghdad’s film festival resumes

Behind concrete blast walls and battling a flickering power supply, Baghdad’s international film festival opened in a hotel on Wednesday in another sign of how improved security is bringing life back to the city.

There was even a red carpet rolled out, but guests to the event last held in 2005 had to be body-searched three times before they were allowed to walk down it.

Despite a sharp drop in violence in Iraq since June, the directors of the 40 foreign films at the festival stayed away. Some were keen to come but were discouraged by organizers, anxious to avoid any risk of the event grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Of the 61 films competing for medals at the biennial film festival, there are 21 Iraqi entries, mostly short films and documentaries, many of which portray Iraq’s woes.