Country
Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, UK, Saudi Arabia
Production Year
2022
Running Time
107 Minutes
Genre
Drama
Age
17+
boyhood, child's point of view, religion, social/political repression | Nudity
Brothers As’ad (12) and Taha (28) barely scrape a living as rubbish pickers in ‘Hanging Gardens’ – the local nickname for Baghdad’s smoldering dumps – yet they make the most of what they have.
One day, As’ad discovers an American sex doll. When he brings the taboo item home and presents her as a thing of beauty, Taha assaults his little brother for ruining their reputation.
As’ad retreats to Hanging Gardens to make a new home for himself and his miraculous find. When As’ad and his friend, Amir(14), discover she can speak, they teach her the
language of seduction in Arabic and set her to work.
As’ad’s journey of life choices and consequences began.
Director
Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji (1986), an Iraqi director, is a Berlinale Talents and London Film School alumnus. His MA graduation film, Children of God (2013), won the Fipresci Award for Best Arab Short (Dubai Film Festival) and Best Live Action Short (Seoul Guro). UK-based ‘Stray’ (2016) premiered in competition at the London Short Film Festival and toured internationally. His debut feature, Hanging Gardens, won the Jury of La Biennale di Venezia Prize at Final Cut (2021).
