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Rashid’s Film Makes Strong Statements
DUBAI - Italian based Iraqi, Erfan Rashid, is not a traditional children’s film maker.
His short film Grownup’s wars makes a strong statement, “When a war kills a child, it kills the future.”
Rashid, who screened this movie in the Gulf Film Festival, lived in Iraq for 26 years before re-locating to Italy.
Rashid’s short film is based on the reaction to the war in Iraq by the children of Italy. The idea for the film was born after he spoke to a group of 21 school children in Italy about the war in Iraq.
The kids wanted to do something substantial to support the children in Iraq. They send letters to the children in Iraq, supporting them and giving them the strength to bear the war.
A scene in the movie depicts an Iraqi child running behind an American tank for water and we ask ourselves, why do children have to suffer because of the grownups.
Rashid started off as a journalist in Baghdad, and is also the Arabic programmer of the Dubai International Film Festival. “I spoke to a lot of school children in Italy, most of them who had very limited knowledge of Iraq. They knew the 1001 Nights, and the adventures of folk hero Aladdin.
For them to come face to face with the harsh realities in Iraq was completely different. It raised a lot of questions in their young minds,” said Rashid.
Grownup’s war is Rashid’s second attempt at making movies for children. The letters which were used in the movie, also have the voice recordings of the children who wrote the letters and drew pictures.
“Children in a country are the most vulnerable victims in any war. I just want the viewers of the short film to realise that, each time they use the gun to take a child’s life, they are taking away the child’s future”.
Speaking on how he was inspired to make a children’s film he said, “I am a father myself, and I share a very good relationship with my son and besides that I enjoy working with kids. They give a lot of possibilities to explore. I think our kids educate us more than we educate them.”
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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