The heritage and culture of Iraqi Jews are among many insights brilliantly captured in the documentary “Remember Baghdad,” which chronicles Iraq’s Jewish population before coups and geopolitics turned lives upside down.
Before Saddam Hussein’s reign and under British rule, many Jews lived lavish lives in Iraq and owned small businesses. They practiced their religion freely, and many had Muslim neighbors they frequently visited and invited to their homes for card games late into the night.
Many would later describe this period as some of the best years of their lives.
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As the documentary travels thorough Iraq’s history, viewers receive an inside look at a community that is often overlooked. The film presents the lives of Iraqi Jews such as David Dangoor and Eileen Khalastchy as they recount their childhoods before the coup d’état that swept through the country and led many Jews to flee the only home they knew.
As an official selection of the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival and UK International Jewish Film Festival, “Remember Baghdad” is sure to give filmgoers a memorable lesson on history they might not know about.
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screenings: Feb. 10, 1 p.m., Springs; Feb. 11, 11 a.m., Tara
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