Ameer Ali Jabarah

In Baghdad's streets, Chum-Chum, a diabetic and dreamy nine-year-old, believes the Tigris hides a gate to Irkalla, the underworld where he can revive his lost parents. As his friend Moody is pulled into a militia plot, Chum-Chum must choose between myth and truth.

Sara enters Baghdad station with sinister intentions for its reopening ceremony. As she braces to commit an unthinkable act, her plans are drastically altered by an unwanted and awkward encounter with Salam, a self-assured and flirtatious salesman. With Salam now hostage to Sara’s confused and deluded plan, he battles desperately to appeal to her humanity and sway her decision. In a moment of consideration and with her convictions crumbling before her, Sara is given the opportunity to witness the life and innocence she was so willing to destroy. But is this a second chance or an admission of guilt?

An Iraqi soldier escaping from Kuwait as the army retreats in 1991 is captured and cast into Saddam’s infamous prisons, accused of being a traitor. Outside, an Iraqi uprising instills hope for those held captive in the killing fields of Babylon.