Erin Ruffin’s Weblog

Sometimes you need a good, hard slap in the face. And sometimes when it happens all you can do is just sit back and take it like a (wo)man. It’s usually unexpected, and it’s usually necessary. Those two words sum up the documentary I saw not long ago – unexpected and necessary.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a documentary film about a young group of Iraqis in the band Acrassicauda. The film is the story of the guys trying to make sense of their dreams to be rock stars and the bullet-infested streets that are stopping them. The candid look into the lives of these young rockers is absolutely jarring. It’s a raw picture of how the war and conflicts in the Middle East are stunting the lives of an entire generation of youth. I love the Middle East, I’ve researched it for years, I’ve lived there, traveled there, I have friends and family there and not much has stunned me the way Heavy Metal in Baghdad did.

I’ve been meaning to write this post since I saw the film but I was searching for ways everyone can see it. Right now it’s only playing in select cities for limited screenings but I’ll keep updates on when the showtimes open up. For now, here is the link to the website and trailer.

http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/trailer.html