Atia Jbara Al-Darraji

Atia Jbara Al Darraji was born on June 13 in 1964 in Baghdad. He graduated from the Fine Art Academy in Baghdad in 1992. After his graduation, he started to continue on his family business which was carpet selling. However, After Saddam Hussein's regime was overturned in 2003, he realized there are too many untold stories related to war and its after effect around him, that needs to be said, so he established his first producing company in 2004 called, Iraq Al-Rafidain Film Production Corporation. He produced his first film Ahlaam(2005) directed by his brother Mohammed Al Darraji, which grabbed a lot of attention in festivals like the Brooklyn film festival. Right after that, he produced Son of Babylon (2009) premiered at the ADFF and won two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2010. Atia directed his first featured documentary film called In My Mother's Arms in 2011. This film highlighted the issue of Orphans in Iraq in post-war and participated in more than 50 international festivals gaining 18 awards including the best film award in the Korean international festival and Asia and Oceania Oscar. He also directed the film Path of Maryam (2016). Atia believes that cinema is for everyone, especially people who suffered through the trauma of the war deserves some time to live in the magical world of cinema. That's why he created a Mobile Cinema. Mobile Cinema was made by a portable screen and projector. Mobile Cinema traveled through many streets that were damaged in the war in Baghdad. He wanted to bring life back on those streets that witnessed many deaths, through cinema. He recently working on his last film, Ninety Days, which will be released in 2021.