The initial hope, felt by many Iraqis, would be tragically short lived once the realities of occupation with no postwar plan hit the streets of Baghdad. Now Iraq’s most famous comedian, as a teenager in 2003, Ahmed was excited by the opportunity to speak English with real Americans, waving at the invading troops and inviting them into his house. Documentary of 2020: Once Upon a Time in Iraq, BBC 2, BBC iPlayer, Narrator Andy Serkis and Director James Bluemel | ABCtales Read one of the 125,041 stories from our 19,867 authors Sign in / Sign up The Observer's faces of 2020 Documentary Interview Waleed Nesyif: ‘I got hundreds of messages after Once Upon a Time in Iraq' Ursula Kenny Waleed Nesyif, … If war meant life would eventually be more like the way it was in the movies, then in Waleed’s words, 'let’s get this s**t done'. In the chaos that followed the invasion, insurgency took root. Once Upon a Time in Iraq is the most searing anti-war documentary I have seen. Elizabeth Frood presents a documentary about the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. BBC’s documentary 'Once upon a Time in Iraq' ignores the decimation of the Christian and Yazidi communities. Here is the BBC’s response in full: Here is the BBC’s response in full: “There was no conflict of interest between the wider work of a freelance cameraman and the work he did for us as a researcher on this series. Just as the BBC defended the WMD “dodgy dossier” that decimated Iraq and led to the deaths of millions of Iraqis, we now see the BBC rallying around the chemical weapon “dodgy dossier” that has enabled the prolongation of the Documentary series. Most of the participants show obvious signs of the toll taken. CNN Films and BBC will take viewers inside the efforts of researchers around the world trying to develop and manufacture vaccines to fight the global coronavirus pandemic, in a documentary … For some, recounting the past means reliving it – one marine takes a big swig of tequila from the bottle before he starts. In the face of insurgency, the cruelty of the occupying forces intensified. Netflix kickstarted its 2020 documentary slate with one of the first hits of the year. The war was still to come. Update: a BBC spokesperson responded to me on December 1, 2020, one day after this article was published. The BBC's chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson , affirmed the need to broadcast "without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality" and that in this case, it was a "real issue." The director of BBC documentary Once Upon a Time in Iraq on how the conflict's repercussions are still felt today So I was able to tell the story … Iraq civilians recall their initial hopes before the realities of war become clear. The BBC Trust reported in its 'Decision of the BBC Trust' document on the appeal that, 'the BBC Executive had received about 40,000 complaints about the Director General's decision'. For others, it was more complicated. The BBC has defended its decision to film a controversial documentary which explores dog breeding despite a petition to stop it airing receiving 24,000 signatures. She had been told to be fearful of them, but when a soldier offered her a sweet, she decided that the stories she had been taught at school about the foreign imperialist devils were wrong, as only good people could be this kind. Audio described, See all episodes from Once Upon a Time in Iraq, Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes. A lot of what makes it so difficult to watch is the presumption that you already know the story – as bad as you thought it was, it was worse than you dared imagine. Prior to the war many Iraqis like Nesyif yearned for freedom, but within weeks of the invasion they were reduced to asking for, as he put it, “dignity, electricity and some semblance of security”. Posted 2020-08-31 23:17 GMT Promotional poster for a new documentary about Iraq produced for the BBC and PBS. When the politicians do appear it’s in the comprehensive archive footage of the period, speaking the language of victory and freedom. BBC Two's superlative documentary series ended with its most nightmarish episode, as Isis stepped into the power void Amid the endless horrors in Once Upon a Time In Iraq … “Am I wrong, or did I sound like Borat?” he says. The story of how the US and its allies overthrew a despotic regime and made things much worse succeeded brilliantly by focusing on moving personal stories, Last modified on Thu 17 Dec 2020 23.37 EST. BBC preview see links below for full one hour episode - Girls as young as 9 are being pimped by Muslim clerics through “pleasure marriages” in Iraq. The whole thing is still available to stream, but a word of warning: Once Upon a Time in Iraq is the polar opposite of binge viewing. Signed Even during filming the electricity fails mid-interview. The BBC recently broadcasted a documentary titled "Undercover with the Clerics: Iraq's Secret Sex Trade." Here they are dramatically lit, often no more than faces emerging from the darkness: the civilians, journalists and soldiers who had no option but to experience the war in Iraq first-hand. He was, like many Iraqi teenagers at that time, infatuated by the West. Once Upon a Time in Iraq: when the documentary series starts on BBC Two, and what to expect The five-part series speaks to soldiers, journalists … None of those was forthcoming; some still aren’t. That was the very real hope of Ahmed Al Bashir. All the latest news about Iraq from the BBC Video caption: How the Iraqi leader tried to get Iraq into the world of big movies How the Iraqi leader tried to get Iraq into the world of big movies Its humanity doesn’t make it any less harrowing – you will need time to decompress between episodes. Once Upon a Time in Iraq is, in short, the story of America and its allies overthrowing a despotic regime and then setting about making things much, much worse, causing untold suffering in the process and destabilising an entire region for decades afterwards. Um Qusay, a farmer’s wife from a small village near Tikrit, was under no illusions about the cruelty of Saddam’s regime. It was happening in front of them, to them. The five-part BBC documentary ‘Once Upon a Time in Iraq’ has received almost universal critical acclaim since its release earlier this month. Watch FRONTLINE's documentary on the story of the Iraq war and the chaos that followed, told by Iraqis who lived through it. Sally was just eight years old when American troops entered Baghdad. “I didn’t do good with the reintegration,” says Lt Col Nate Sassaman, a soldier the journalist Dexter Filkins called “the most impressive officer I met in Iraq”. The streets were very safe, and if you did not oppose the government directly, you were free to live how you wished. Maybe, just maybe, Iraq would emerge a better country - perhaps even as one of the best countries in the world. The UN has sharply criticised President Donald Trump's decision to pardon four former Blackwater contractors jailed over the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians. – director James Bluemel wisely focuses on personal stories. Across five shattering instalments, Once Upon a Time in Iraq gradually reveals their former identities, peeling back layers: translators trying to survive; journalists trying to bear witness; soldiers who came to bestow freedom. Home TV New British TV Series for 2020: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas and More Features New British TV Series for 2020: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, … That did not mean however that she wanted a foreign army to invade her country to dispose of him. As war began, many Iraqis were hopeful. As war began, many Iraqis were hopeful. With Andy Serkis. Life might not have been perfect, but many felt that a war with America would be something that Iraq would not survive. Learn more about the world we live in with these thought-provoking documentaries. Like all the best documentaries, Once Upon a Time in Iraq is just some people telling a story. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a selection of the best full length documentaries in english you can find here on YouTube. Long before the end, his disillusionment is complete. Waleed Nesyif was 18 when George Bush gave Saddam Hussein just 48 hours to leave Iraq. There were benefits to living in a police state. except Northern Ireland & Northern Ireland HD. ‘I’ve missed the war’ were his initial thoughts. From his hotel room in northern Iraq, photographer Ashley Gilbertson watched, along with the rest of the world, as Saddam’s statue was torn down. The Iraq War: Regime Change (2013) [6] Only the Dead (Australian documentary, 2015) Apache Warrior (Netflix documentary film, 2017) Medal of Honor (Netflix TV series, 2018) Once Upon a Time in Iraq (2020) References By comparison to the American movies Waleed and his friends enjoyed, life under Saddam was oppressive, fuelled by fear and paranoia. But while many of his generation grew up enjoying songs by the Backstreet Boys, Waleed formed Iraq’s first heavy metal band. BBC Homepage UK set for 'bumpy' period as new EU rules come in Ministers warn of "practical and procedural changes" when the Brexit transition period ends this week. At the start, Waleed Nesyif, who quickly establishes himself as a plain-speaking, chain-smoking star, watches footage of himself as an 18-year-old translator working for western journalists way back in 2003. The heart of the story comes from the Iraqis, some of whom were still kids when the invasion began; others were mothers whose children were killed or injured. Documentary series. In five parts on Mondays on BBC2, it is not bangs, screams and … As war began, many Iraqis were hopeful. 9pm, BBC Two The film-maker James Bluemel, whose powerful 2016 series Exodus told the story of the European refugee crisis, turns his attention to documenting the legacy of the Iraq war. There are no politicians offering global justifications or hindsight-tinged regrets here; participation is limited to folks with front-row seats. Ahmed Al Bashir, now a famous comedian, remembers practising his English with US troops before the realities of occupation became clear. None of what they have to say has aged well. With unique personal archive from civilians and soldiers from both sides of the conflict, this series takes viewers closer to the realities of war and life under ISIS than they have ever been before. 'No one is pure evil': the documentary bringing a human face to the Iraq war. 2020 in TV Documentary The 50 best TV shows of 2020, No 5: Once Upon a Time in Iraq The story of how the US and its allies overthrew a despotic regime and … What he and many others did not realise at the time was that this was not the war. Elizabeth Monier 22 September 2020 Read about our approach to external linking. At first we are not even certain who these people are, but that doesn’t make their stories any less powerful. 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