For others, this realistic perspective needs to be applied to the entire situation, which is broader and more complex, believes screenwriter Hamed al-Maliki, who stopped writing. In an interview with Al-Monitor via e-mail, Maliki cited technical and administrative problems in the industry.
Maliki said that in the absence of strong foundations and traditions, all of the branches of Iraq's TV and film industry are weak. A story is selected and produced by workers who have no clue how to run the project. “Some directors adopt old and boring directing techniques, while the actors are trained to present a theatrical performance. In addition, we have greedy producers that look for cheap scenarios regardless of how bad they are,” he said.
Although former leader Saddam Hussein's regime was once in total control of the industry, it is generally believed that Saddam's overthrow did not improve things. What was supposed to be freedom has turned into a mess. Maliki agreed. Al-Iraqiya, for example, shares the mindset of the former regime in asking its writers to write against that government. Maliki asked, “Didn’t the former regime ask writers to write texts condemning the era preceding the rise of the Baath party to power?”
According to Maliki, had the problem been limited to only this issue, it would have been easy to solve. There are other serious problems that he refused to address for personal security reasons.
Others, such as director Hafez Laibi, spoke of what Maliki refused to discuss, as namely the rampant corruption in Iraq. The Iraqi TV and film industry is one of its victims.
At a symposium held by the Iraqi Commission of Integrity on March 17, at the headquarters of the Iraqi Union of Writers in Baghdad, some called for the industry to join the fight against the rampant corruption in the country. A quarrel took place, as some of the audience members objected, saying that the industry itself is plagued by corruption.
The widespread corruption in the Iraqi TV and film industry forces its professionals to set specific priorities. Despite the importance of developing Iraqi technical staff’s skills and competencies and creating a production policy governed by sophisticated practices, the priority should be on the fight against corruption and holding those behind it accountable.
(Corruption image via Shutterstock)
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