Catalan documentary shows the consequences of Iraq’s invasion through the eyes of one family

Barcelona (ACN).- The documentary ‘La boda de la Rita: història d’una família iraquiana II’ ('Rita’s wedding: The story of an Iraqi family II'), filmed by Catalan director Fèlix Merino, begins with Rita’s wedding. She is the oldest niece of the Alibek family, made up of twelve brothers, who live between Baghdad, London and Barcelona. Through the celebration, which rejoins the family, the film narrates the consequences of the invasion of Iraq: aspects such as war, political exile and hope are interwoven in a harsh but also optimistic story. The documentary has taken two and a half years of work and is the second part of ’El viaje de Mazín: la història d’una família iraquiana’ (Mazin’s trip: the story of an Iraqi family’), until now the only Catalan documentary made in Iraq’s post-invasion in 2004.

The plot of the documentary talks about three Iraqis, members of the same family, who came to Barcelona in different moments. One of them is Pius Alibek, philologist and writer, who came in 1981; then, there is Mazin Alibek, who arrived in 1991; and finally, the protagonist Rita Alibek, who lives in the Catalan capital since 2005.

According to director Fèlix Merino, these characters represent three generations of the same family that have given him “a vital lesson”, a lesson he has tried to convey in the documentary as far as possible.

‘La boda de la Rita: història d’una família iraquiana II’ ('Rita`s wedding: The story of an Iraqi family II') is a Zoom Agency production. Catalan Public Television Broadcaster and the Local Television network have also taken part in the project.

The documentary was presented recently in the Centre for Contemporary Culture auditorium in downtown Barcelona. It can also be uploaded on the Internet.