Best Iraqi drama movies

Son of Babylon (2009)

A willful young boy follows his just and obstinate grandmother on a journey across Iraq, determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed's father, who never returned from war.

1988 (2023)

In the winter of 1988, in the depths of the Iraq/Iran war, the border town of Halabja was attacked by chemical weapons with all its people and their different stories.

In the Sands of Babylon (2013)

An Iraqi soldier escaping from Kuwait as the army retreats in 1991 is captured and cast into Saddam’s infamous prisons, accused of being a traitor. Outside, an Iraqi uprising instills hope for those held captive in the killing fields of Babylon.

Dreams (2006)

Scarred Baghdad 2003... confusion, uncertainty and death engulf the bombed ruins of a Psychiatric Asylum. Voyeuristically we move between the past and the present of three Iraqi lives entangled by the chaos of the American 'Shock and Awe' campaign...

Haifa Street (2019)

2006, Baghdad is ravaged by sectarian violence. Haifa Street is the epicenter of the conflict. Ahmed gets dropped off there by a taxi on his way to his beloved Suad's home to ask for her hand for marriage, he gets shot by Salam, a sniper who's living his own personal hell on a rooftop above.

Life (2001)

"Jiyan" takes place in Halabja about five years after Saddam's infamous chemical attack in 1988. Diyari (Kurdo Galali) has come from his new homeland, America, to put up a badly needed new orphanage. As construction proceeds, he gradually becomes acquainted with the tragic individual stories of the survivors. Prime among these is orphan girl Jiyan (Pirsheng Berzinji), and her lively young cousin Sherko (Choman Hawrami). Although he seems to fit right into life in this impoverished town, Diyari can hardly absorb the catastrophe that hit there, nor can he accept the level of injury that he encounters. When the orphanage is ready, Diyari says his goodbyes, plunging Jiyan back into quiet despair.

Flaming Borders (1984)

The film portrays the Iraqi army's role in confronting Iranian aggression during the war between Iraq and Iran from 1980 to 1988. The film highlights numerous heroic acts of Iraqi army personnel during this conflict.

Al-Qadisiyya (1981)

A historical epic about the battle of Qadiseya, which was helmed by the Arabian knight Saad Ibn Abi Waqas, and which enabled Muslims from conquering Persia in 636 A.D.

Landless (2021)

Due to the ISIS war, Kani (a pregnant singer) and her husband decide to leave Kurdistan. After meeting with a Turkish smuggler, they have no choice but to make the arduous journey inside an emptied, claustrophobic oil tanker across the Turkish border, stuck with a group of people who are also running for their lives.

Europa (2021)

Kamal, a young Iraqi man entering Europe on foot through the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, is captured by Bulgarian border police but escapes, finding himself to search for a way out in a seemingly interminable forest, an underworld where rules and laws don’t exist, where he is wounded and chased by Bulgarian migrant hunters. For three days and three nights Kamal must fight for his life through a journey of survival until a final life-or-death confrontation.

Red Heart (2011)

The teenagers Shirin and Soran are in love and want to marry, but Shirin's father has arranged her marriage and forbids them. On her wedding night, Soran kidnaps her for them to be together.

Arzu ile Kamber (1952)

Fitna and Hassan (1955)

In the Iraqi countryside, a love story links Fitna and her cousin Hassan. The people of the village sympathize with Hassan for being a chivalrous and kind person, but Hassan's stepmother seeks to sabotage the relationship and tries to separate them.

Mardan (2014)

A police officer finds himself haunted by a traumatic childhood memory as he searches for a missing man in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, in this striking feature debut by Batin Ghobadi.

The Agony of People (2007)

Sulaymaniah, Iraqi Kurdistan, in the 1940s. When his wife Kaleh goes into labor, her husband Jwamer runs to get the midwife. By ill luck, he runs into the middle of a political demonstration and is seriously wounded and arrested by mistake as the ringleader. After a rigged trial, Jwamer is sentenced to ten years in prison. He serves his sentence and, as soon as he is set free, goes in search of his wife and child.

A Silent Traveler (1993)

Debuting Iraq-born, Netherlands-based writer/director Ibrahim Selman starts out on docu ground, with a voiceover explaining his objectives and the film’s stand-in location, and recalling Kurdistan before the advent of war. He then shifts into narrative mode, with glimpses of life in a mountain village caught in the conflict between Iraqi military authorities and peshmergas (guerrilla freedom fighters).

Bekas (2010)

Two homeless Kurdish brothers see Superman in the town's first movie theatre and decide they are going to live with him in the US. It's a long, dangerous road in the hands of ruthless human smugglers.

Before Snowfall (2013)

Before Snowfall starts with a dramatic escape: Eighteen year-old Nermin runs away from her wedding in a village in Iraqi Kurdistan. Being the elder of the family, her younger brother Siyar becomes responsible for finding her and restoring the family reputation. The mission proves a dangerous one for the inexperienced Siyar. First stop is Istanbul, where he meets Elvin, a young girl who becomes his travel companion. On the way from east to west, through Europe and all the way to Norway, Siyar comes to realize his own need for respect, and for love.

The Exam (2021)

Rojin is a young Kurdish woman about to take the university entrance exam. Rojin's unhappily married older sister Shilan decides to help her pass at any cost, hoping to give her a more emancipated life. Thus, the sisters inevitably become entangled in a huge network of corruption that connects all parts of society.

Record (2014)

This short tells the story of the life of an elderly mother and father. They want to portray their lives through a video camera in order to send it to their son who lives abroad in solitude. In the 90s, the majority of young Iraqi Kurds migrated because of the civil war and poverty.

Transient Happiness (2023)

After years of marriage, a woman longs for the affection of her husband, who remains unaware of the distance growing between them. As she yearns for the intimacy they once shared, she must navigate their cultural norms and societal expectations to express her desire for a deeper connection.

Empty Home (2019)

A man wants to go to Europe with his family, but his wife doesn't like the idea because of her old father. and is constantly struggling to convince her husband to back off from the trip.

The Classic (2015)

Two Kurdish little people in Iraq risk their lives to fulfill their dreams and that is to meet football hero Cristiano Ronaldo.

Chaplin of the Mountains (2013)

A recently orphaned young Kurdish-French woman travels to Iraqi Kurdistan to find her mother's village, likely destroyed during the Anfal genocide. On her journey she meets two American film students who are traveling to remote villages screening Charlie Chaplin films. They decide to help her search, an undertaking that brings them to the war-weary Mount Qandil, dubbed by the locals the Kurdish Bermuda Triangle, along the Iraqi-Turkish-Iranian borders.

Memories on Stone (2014)

Kurdish childhood friends Hussein and Alan want to produce a film about the genocide of Kurdish people in Iraq, the Anfal campaign in 1988. They learn that, to achieve veracity by the means of cinema and to face their own identity, it's worth putting everything on the line - even their own life.

Baghdad Messi (2023)

The talented Hamoudi is an 11-year-old boy with a passion for soccer and an ultimate dream to one day reach the level of his idol Lionel Messi. The day Hamoudi is caught in a horrific suicide attempt, he wakes up severely injured in a hospital. As his parents struggle to keep the family safe, Hamoudi is determined to fight for his shattered dream.

Kick Off Kirkuk (2009)

Inside a beat up stadium in Kirkuk, Iraq, live many refugees trying to escape Sadam Hussein's administration. Asu lives with his younger brother who has lost his legs from a landmine. Next door lives Hilin, who has not been able to express her feelings. One of the only sources of happiness for these people who live amid fear of poverty and bombings is soccer. Asu gathers together the Kurdish, Arabs and Turkish in order to hold a soccer match. Although they are of different races, they become close neighbors.

Shouted from the Rooftops (2017)

A romantic story set in the heart of a war-torn Kurdish town. When Sherin leaves to fight, her anguished lover Ferhat stays behind awaiting her return.

Grief (2023)

Story of a Kurdish family who struggle with many problems and hardships in life, but they do not give up and continue to seek happiness and try to fight their misery.

The Rain Bride (2022)

Young mother Lori must say goodbye to her husband, who decides to join the war against ISIS. She finds herself in a fight in midst her own society. Thus, Lori searches to express her feelings in dance.