Name: The First Movie
Genre: Documentary, Foreign
Released: 2011
Duration: 1 min 16 s

Brief Synopsis

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Also Known As

First Movie

Genre

Documentary

Foreign

Release Date

2011

Production Company

Screen Siren Pictures

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 16m

Synopsis

A portrait of the Kurdish village of Goptapa, located in the remotest part of Iraq. Though the chaotic American war rages just offscreen, the horror of the anfadel--the chemical bombings by Saddam Hussein that slaughtered thousands of Kurds in the mid-80's--remains deeply seared in the village's consciousness. In order to understand the villagers' experience, the filmmaker gave the children in the community video cameras (which he calls "empathy machines"), and then integrated the children's compelling footage into his film. Through the childrens' footage, we begin to understand that the suffering in Goptapa co-habits with other things, such as wonder and imaginative development.