Koutaiba Al-Janabi, award winning director, producer, director of photography. After many short films and documentaries “Departure” is Koutaiba’s first feature project. “Departure” evolved from Koutaiba’s experience as an axile from Iraq. He left his native Baghdad nearly 30 years ago and lived abroad ever since, living the same fate as many fellow Iraqis.
In all of the still photography work and the films, Koutaiba has been working with the subject of alienation, outsiders, exiles. In “Departure” he worked with real Iraqi exiles, non-professional actors, without a script, letting the story unfold organically through chance meetings, through accidental encounters. This is what Koutaiba is a master of: working with people to give up their own story, get them to act out their own lives.
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