Alexandria Festival awards best screenplay to Iraqi film

Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Cairo

Iraqi short film “Jidariyat Matar (Mural of Rain)” won the Best Screenplay award at the fourth Femto Art International Short Film Festival, which concluded Thursday in Alexandria, Egypt.

Produced by Iraq’s Political Prisoners Foundation, the film was written and directed by Iman Khudair. It draws on the true story of a political prisoner who faced persecution and abuse under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s rule.

The film recounts his imprisonment and suffering, bringing his personal ordeal to the screen.

In a statement, the Political Prisoners Foundation said the award recognizes the film’s role in preserving Iraq’s national memory by documenting the persecution, killings, and other serious abuses suffered by Iraqis under Hussein and the banned Baath Party.

The foundation also described cinema and art as important tools for preserving historical accounts alongside written records, helping Iraqi stories reach future generations as well as audiences abroad.