Iraq's Invisible Beauty

Production year: 2023
Country: Iraq
Director: Sahim Omar Kalifa
Producer: Jurgen Buedts & Las Belgas

Latif al Ani, born in Baghdad in 1932, is known as the father of Iraqi photography. His work forms a unique visual archive of Iraq during its heydays from the 1950s to 1970s and are a profound insight into the country, mostly unknown to Westerners and even Iraqi people themselves.

When Saddam Hussein took power, al Ani stopped photographing. In 2015, he received the prestigious Prince Claus Award, awarded annually by the Dutch Royal Family. This recognition has given Al Ani new confidence and a desire to reconnect with his work, his country and to travel the world like he did freely so many years ago. Now, many years after the last invasion, he is travelling with his photographs, telling stories and showing the unknown Iraq of those days.