Latest news with #French-Iraqi
Broadcast Pro
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Lyrical documentary ‘From Abdul to Leila' to screen in Berlin
The film traces Leila, a French-Iraqi woman, who after an accident and years in exile, reconnects with her dissident father by learning Arabic and singing her story. French-Iraqi musician and filmmaker Leila Albayaty will present her lyrical documentary From Abdul to Leila at a special screening in Berlin on July 22 at 7 PM, hosted at Divan (Arabic Kulturhaus). The event will be followed by an exclusive Q&A session with the director herself. The deeply personal film traces Albayaty's search for her lost Arabic identity, a journey set in motion by music passed down from her Iraqi father, Abdul. After surviving a traumatic accident that left her with memory loss and enduring years of exile, Leila returns to her family home in the south of France. There, she confronts both her father's past, marked by the Iraq war, and her own fragmented identity. Determined to understand where she comes from, she begins learning Arabic and sets to music the poems Abdul once wrote for her. Through this act of artistic and linguistic reconnection, long-buried memories begin to resurface. From Abdul to Leila follows the emotional and physical odyssey of a woman who reclaims her story through music. As Leila travels from France to Iraq and Cairo, the narrative unfolds through intimate moments, blending documentary realism with poetic musicality. The film reveals her evolving relationship with her father, her struggle to overcome personal trauma, and her growing love for the Arabic language and culture. The documentary has already received critical acclaim, winning the Best Documentary Award at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam and the Annual Aarhus Film Festival in Denmark, along with the Grand Jury Prize at the Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival. The film was made possible with support from several cultural institutions, including Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM), the Centre du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), the Doha Film Institute, Filmkunstering, the Goethe Institute of Cairo, and the French Institute of Tunis. It also participated in prominent industry platforms such as the Dubaï Film Connection, Sarajevo Cinelink Work in Progress and Medimed Barcelona. From Abdul to Leila is not only a rediscovery of heritage but a powerful reflection on family, memory, displacement, and the healing power of music.
Shafaq News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
France reaffirms support for Iraq's stability and partnership
Shafaq News – Baghdad The Frensh ambassador to Iraq reaffirmed his country's commitment to strengthening ties with Baghdad, highlighting diplomacy, cultural exchange, and defense cooperation. In a speech marking France's National Day. Ambassador Patrick Durel praised Iraq's recent political and security stability and the scope of French-Iraqi cooperation across sectors. 'France and Iraq share a strong conviction that diplomatic solutions are always preferable to the use of force to overcome crises,' Durel said, citing France's support for the Baghdad Conference initiative backed by President Emmanuel Macron. The conference is intended to promote regional dialogue amid ongoing Middle East tensions. Durel noted notable achievements over the past year despite regional instability, pointing to increasing collaboration between French and Iraqi businesses. 'We are working together to rebuild strong ties between the French and Iraqi private sector... for the sake of Iraq's economic diversification and sustainable development and at the benefit of the Iraqi people.' The ambassador also highlighted cultural exchanges as a pillar of the bilateral relationship, with French archaeological teams resuming missions in Iraq and Iraqi filmmakers gaining international acclaim. On defense cooperation, Durel underlined France's active role in supporting Iraq's security through its contributions to the International Coalition, NATO Mission in Iraq, and bilateral initiatives. 'We pursue the training of the Desert Battalions,' he noted, adding that France remains ready to support Iraq's military and equipment needs, including safeguarding its airspace. Durel commended Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for maintaining Iraq's neutrality amid regional conflicts, stating that the country is 'experiencing a period of stability' due to government efforts to steer clear of foreign entanglements. Describing Iraq's population as its 'real wealth,' the ambassador stressed the importance of unity and inclusion, referencing his visits to cities across the country, from Faw in the south to Zakho in the north. He also voiced support for continued dialogue between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to resolve internal disputes, saying France encourages both sides to overcome challenges through cooperation.
LeMonde
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
Avignon Festival: Arabic makes a tentative entrance on stage
After English in 2023 and Spanish in 2024, Arabic – the fifth most spoken language in the world – is taking its turn as the guest language of the Avignon Festival in southeastern France. This is a strong statement by Tiago Rodrigues, the festival director, made against a tense geopolitical backdrop. In such a polarized context, Arabic finds itself, as he writes in his editorial, "held hostage by merchants of violence and hatred who assign it associations of insularity, fundamentalism, and a so-called clash of civilizations." The 79 th edition of the festival features many choreographers and poets, but very few playwrights. Tamara Al Saadi, who is French-Iraqi, Essia Jaïbi, Tunisian, Bashar Murkus, Palestinian, and Wael Kadour, Syrian: The number of playwrights can be counted on one hand. Their rarity makes their presence in Avignon all the more valuable. "What does it mean, today, to invite the Arabic language to a festival like Avignon? Which kind of Arabic is being invited? Do we want to listen to and read this language, or do we want to see bodies moving around it? Why is there more dance than performances with text? What does it mean for an Arab body to dance to the Arabic language in a European festival?" said Jaïbi, a playwright, who admitted she did not have the answers to her own questions. However, when dancer Mohamed Toukabri asked her to write a piece to support his choreography, she did not hesitate: "I entered this project with the questions that run through me."
Iraqi News
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Iraq and France discuss bilateral cooperation in combating crime and drug trafficking
Baghdad - INA The Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq and the French Ministry of Justice discussed, today, Thursday, bilateral cooperation in combating drug trafficking, while affirming their readiness to continue exchanging expertise in the field of organized crime. A joint statement by the Supreme Judicial Council and the French Ministry of Justice - received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) - said: "A symposium was organized in Baghdad on February 4 and 5, 2025 on combating transnational organized crime in Baghdad," indicating that "this symposium was organized within the framework of signing the French-Iraqi strategic agreement on January 27, 2023, where several chapters were allocated to enhance bilateral cooperation in combating organized crime, drug trafficking, and economic and financial crimes." The statement added that "combating organized crime, alongside combating terrorism, is currently one of the most important threats at the national and international levels," noting that "the ability of criminal networks to adapt and the diversity of their methods of operation in criminal fields, in addition to the profits they generate, have made combating these criminal groups a pivotal issue related to sovereignty, security, economy, environment, health, justice and development." The statement explained that "the French and Iraqi authorities have made this major source of concern a strategic approach", noting that "with this threat, it is a priority that the joint organization of this symposium, which brings together high-level representatives of the most important French and Iraqi judicial institutions (the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardon, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Paris, the National Financial Prosecution, investigating judges from the Judicial Court in Paris, the Directorate of Criminal Assets Recovery, the National Directorate of the Judicial Police in France, the Baghdad Courts of Appeal and the Iraqi Public Prosecution, provided a renewed opportunity to enhance technical and judicial cooperation between France and Iraq)." He stressed that "by enhancing the exchange on the different models of judicial organization in combating organized crime as well as on the criminal phenomena facing the countries, this event allowed for the continuation of constructive dialogue; with the aim of enhancing joint solutions to confront the challenge imposed on us at the present time, which is organized crime". The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and the French Ministry of Justice expressed their readiness "to continue exchanging expertise in the field of organized crime and financial crime within the framework of the bilateral criminal working group that was launched on June 1, 2023 in Iraq, and it is possible to organize a symposium Exchange of new experiences in Paris in 2025.
