Heavy Metal in Baghdad

So I'm a student again :-) which means plenty of time for blogging and for film-watching. On a bit of a whim, I went along to the ICA to see Heavy Metal in Baghdad, a documentary charting the lives of 5 young Iraqis who make up Acrassicauda, a Metallica-inspired heavy metal band who formed in 2001. This is an incredible film, and it took a huge amount of courage to get it made - both on behalf of the film-makers and the band members. Watching the band in their early days dedicating a song out of obligation to Saddam is almost comical but we soon see their hopes of a better future dashed in the aftermath of invasion. Having lost friends, family and unable to meet with one another safely in Baghdad, nearly all the band end up living as 'heavy-metal refugees' in Damascus, without status, the right to work and ultimately, without their music - forced to sell their guitars to pay the rent. I hear that the band are now in Turkey so things move on and the band are continuing to post on a blog.... here's the latest published in May:

"Every day brings new challenge that you are not up to with out your power sources. Your music, your home, your friends and so much more living of the broken hopes and dreams of the day that you will be able to gain all of them back. The only thing you got in your pocket to rely on is your belief. This is the only thing that keeps us all going forward and not look back."

At this time of intense political debate, both in this country and in the US, this film is a timely reminder of the power of politics and the devastating impact of war on young people who are just trying to get on with their lives - young people who have the same hopes and dreams as you and me.