The voices of ordinary Iraqis have been silenced by years of dictatorship, war, and occupation. In 2004, two London-based Iraqi filmmakers, Kasim Abid and Maysoon Pachachi, set up the Independent Film & Television College. in Baghdad to teach young Iraqis how to tell their stories through film. The college, the first of its kind in Iraq, charges no tuition fees and is funded by international charities (including the Open Society Institute), trade unions, and private donations. Despite the difficult and dangerous conditions in Baghdad, the college's students and staff have completed 11 short documentary films illuminating ordinary life in today's Iraq from a perspective missing in the mainstream media.
ArteEast and the Open Society Institute hosted a screening of students' work and a discussion with the college founders.