THE RORY PECK AWARDS 2007
Sponsored by Sony
Omer Salih - Iraqi
Baghdad: A Doctor's StoryFinalist: The Sony Impact Award
The film depicts life inside Al Yarmouk hospital, one of the biggest in Baghdad, in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, which now mainly treats bomb victims. As a former ER doctor, Omer was able to gain unique access to the hospital and its staff. He filmed in the ER, the operating theatres, the blood bank, and travelled with ambulance crews as they brought in casualties. It is so dangerous to work there that many refused to show their face on camera.
The judges praised the excellent journalism, describing this film as “A vision of hell.”
“The sequence at the end of the film – shot from inside an ambulance – is absolutely outstanding. In a sense it is the mirror image of the footage we normally see – of ambulances rushing past. I’ve never seen the human effects of what is happening in Iraq captured in quite that way before.”
Cameraman's Comment
“Conditions for patients and staff at Al Yarmouk are appalling. In addition, doctors and hospital managers are seen as targets. While we were filming, two directors of security at the hospital were murdered.”
BiographyOmer Salih qualified in medicine at the University of Baghdad in 2001. He worked as a resident doctor at Al Kharkh General Hospital in the city specialising in orthopaedic surgery and trauma. In 2005 he worked in the Baghdad bureau of National Public Radio as an interpreter and fixer. Since then he has worked for Guardian Films, New Yorker magazine and other media organisations. Earlier this year he left Iraq after winning a Fulbright scholarship to study journalism in the US. Before he left, his eldest brother survived an assassination attempt, his two teenage brothers were kidnapped and his father was kidnapped and murdered. Most of Omer's family have now left Iraq and live in Syria. In 2007, ' Baghdad: A Doctor's Story', won an International Emmy Award for best current affairs.
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