Screening at select theaters in North America!

Nowhere to Hide

WINNER AT IDFA 2016 !
Part of the Competition Program for Feature Length Documentary

Nowhere to Hide follows male nurse Nori Sharif through five years of dramatic change, providing unique access into one of the world’s most dangerous and inaccessible areas – the “triangle of death” in central Iraq. Initially filming stories of survivors and the hope of a better future as American and Coalition troops retreat from Iraq in 2011, conflicts continue with Iraqi militias, and the population flees accompanied by most of the hospital staff.

Nori is one of the few who remain. When ISIS advances on Jalawla in 2014 and takes over the city, he too must flee with his family at a moment’s notice, and turns the camera on himself.

“Nowhere To Hide should be required viewing for anyone with an opinion about the refugee crisis.”

- Screendaily

“There are those films, which are wonderful to see and there are films that the world needs to see. The film we choose is both of these things. The experience was immersive and left us deeply touched. The director respected the unique perspective that only the subject could have and in doing so he gave us an unprecedented window into the real life lasting consequences of war.”

IDFA Jury statement

“Sharif’s compassionate and poetic documentation, told with unflinching honesty, presents a humanistic portrait of a troubled people very different from the news images broadcast around the world during the last few decades.”

ModernTimes

“Shattered bodies prove easier to fix than broken countries in Zaradasht Ahmed’s Nowhere to Hide, a first-person immersion in four turbulent years in the life of an Iraqi medic.”

- Hollywood Reporter

“Zaradasht Ahmed’s ‘Nowhere to Hide’ Takes Top Prize at IDFA… An insider’s account of the hellish aftermath of the Iraq war charts the path to today’s unsettled world”

Variety, Damon Wise

more press

This is a story of a man struggling for survival in Iraq…

where war has become the norm. The enemy is invisible, and neither women nor children have a safe hideout. Our protagonist, 36-year-old Nori Sharif, is husband, father of four children, and a male nurse. He becomes a videographer, documenting life over several years in one of Iraq’s most dangerous provinces: Diyala.

By following Nori we take part in his daily life. We are with him as another war erupts after the American retreat in 2011; a new war without fronts, uniforms or common rules. Without choosing sides, Nori records destruction as well as hope from this war zone. But it is the beginning of the end. The film stretches over a period of five years, beginning with the hope of a better future, to witnessing the growth of ISIS (the Islamic State), and eventually the fall of Nori’s home town. As Nori keeps filming throughout this period of time, he begins to turn the camera on himself.

Nori’s narrative represents persistence, hope and faith. But, in this new reality of being squeezed between two giant forces – ISIS on one side and the Iraqi militias on the other, is it possible to remain impartial and keep his family intact? Will he and his family survive, and be able to rebuild the country and the oasis that lies hidden behind the smoke and rubble?

CREW
- Director: Zaradasht Ahmed
- Producer: Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas
- Co-Producers: Hans Husum, Stina Gardell
- Photographers: Zaradasht Ahmed & Nori Sharif
- Editor: Eva Hillström sfk
- Additional photography: Fouad Baqi
- Production Co-ordinator, Iraq: Fouad Baqi
- Location Manager, Kalar Iraq: Hiwa Ali
- Production Company: Ten Thousand Images
- Co-Producers: Pasaremos, Mantaray Film
- Distribution Services: East Village Entertainment, Diana Holtzberg
- Festival Distribution: East Village Entertainment, Diana Holtzberg & Norwegian Film Institute, Toril Simonsen
TECHNICAL SPECS:
- Duration: Festival 86 min / Tv Hour
- Format: HD, DCP
- Screen Ratio: 16:9
- Sound Format: 5,1 Surround, Stereo
- Languages: Arabic with english, norwegian subtitles

Nowhere to Hide – Electronic Press Kit

Nowhere to Hide - Electronic Press Kit

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Read about the Movie, download images and Magazine

Nowhere to Hide – Official Trailer

DIRECTOR ZARADASHT AHMED

Director and Photographer Zaradasht Ahmed is a Kurdish/Norwegian Filmmaker. He was born and raised in Northern Iraq. His previous work includes the award-winning “Road to Diyarbakir”, and he has many years of experience working with documentary filmmaking in the Middle East, North-Africa, and Asia, as well as training local people in documentation. His latest film on the topic of illegal immigration to Europe (for SVT Swedish Television) – “Fata Morgana”, has been screened at several prestigious Film festivals.

My ambition is to let the audience reflect on the human consequences of a brutal reality where all taboos are violated.

With “Nowhere to Hide” I want to show that we are all part of this reality – war, explosions, victims, terrorism, they affect us globally, and we are all responsible, despite our geographical whereabouts. Meanwhile, I want to show the human resistance that is growing among these survivors; to show the hope of rebuilding after the breakdown of civilization.

In the end, as humans, the only thing that can help us survive is to believe that the will to build will always be stronger than the desire to destroy.

Background

Fifteen years after the US-led invasion of Iraq the country continues to dominate the headlines with stories of sectarian violence, bombings, kidnappings, corruption and dire poverty, human displacement and a massive refugee crisis.

Institutions and infrastructures are breaking down, and the de-stabilization of the region continues to reach new areas. The country has become a breeding ground for new and diverging religious, ethnic and political conflicts that also spreads far beyond the Arabian Peninsula. A lot of land is now in the Islamic state’s (IS) hands; a seemingly undefined army of international jihadist, mercenaries, ex-military and clans that don’t seem to have any greater common long-term strategy than power and influence.

During the first years after the US invasion a war pattern was obvious: that being between the occupier and the opposition forces. But in 2006-8 there was a change in character; ethnic sectarianism flared up and the violence became increasingly unpredictable and random. Families, tribes and communities were divided, and it became difficult to distinguish friend from foe. How can one give a truthful picture of this state of war when the areas are forbidden “no-go”-zones, and the survivors are without a voice? By training and directing Nori Sharif to film his surrounding, this has become a possibility.

Screenings

Festival	Place	Date	Status
IDFA International Documentary Festival Amsterdam WINNER – Best Feature Length Documentary	Amsterdam Netherland	2016, Nov 16-27
TIFF Tromsø International Film Festival NOMINATED: The Norwegian Peace Film Award	Tromsø Norway	2017, Jan 16-22	Screenings Jan 17,18 & 21 Read more
GFF Gøteborg Film Festival NOMINATED: Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary	Gøteborg Sweden	2017, Jan 27 – Feb 06	Screenings Jan 30,31 & Feb 1,5 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
Best of IDFA on tour	Netherland	2017
Human Rights Human Wrongs Documentary Film Festival	Oslo Norway	2017, Feb 14-19	Screenings Feb 15, 17 & 18 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
BIFF Boulder International Film Festival	Boulder, USA	2017, March 2-5	Screenings March 5th Read more
Thessaloniki International Film Festival WINNER: Audience Award	Thessaloniki, Greece	2017, March	Screenings March 8 & 9 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be there! Read more
Kosmorama Trondheim International Film Festival	Trondheim, Norway	2017, March 6-12	Sceenings March 9, 11, 12 NTNU Seminar: Face of Terror
One World Human Rights Film Festival WINNER: International Competition	Prague, Czech Republic	2017, March 6-15	Screenings March 9, 12, 13 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present at selected screenings. Read more
Tempo Documentary Festival	Stockholm, Sweden	2017, March 6-12	Screenings March 12th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights NOMINATED: Creative Documentaries Competition	Geneva, Switzerland	2017, March 10-19	Screenings March 11 & 16 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
Human Rights Watch Film Festival	London UK	2017, March 6-17	London Closing Night Feature March 17 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
CHP:DOX	Copenhagen, Denmark	2017, March 16-26	Top Dox Secion Screening 20 & 26 March Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present at selected screenings Read more
Stavanger Domkirke / Stavanger Cathedral	Stavanger, Norway	2017, March 22	Special Stavanger Premiere Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present. Read more
Amandusfestivalen	Lillehammer, Norway	2017, March 22-26th	Screengs 24th & 25th March. Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present on the 24th.
Eurodok	Oslo, Norway	2017, March 29th – April 2nd	Screening March 29th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
Arabiske Filmdager	Oslo, Norway	2017, March 30th – April 2nd	Screening March 31 Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Screening April 1st Read more
TIFF Bell Lightbox Human Rights Watch Film Festival	Toronto, Canada	2017, March 31st	Screening March 31st Director Zaradasht Ahmed is holding a Skype presentation Read more
Cleveland International Film Festival NOMINATED: Greg Gund Memorial Standing up Competition	Cleveland, USA	2017, March 29th – April 9th	Screening April 1st & April 3rd Read more
Middle East Now Festival	Florence, Italy	2017, April 4th – April 9th	Screening April 6th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
CINEMAZERO CULTURAL ASSOCIATION Le voci dell’inchiesta [The voices of the investigative journalism]	Pordenone, Italy	2017, April 5th – 9th	Screening April 7th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present. Read more
Sarasota Film Festival NOMINATED: Documentary Feature Competition	Sarasota, Florida, USA	2017, March 31st – April 9th	Screening April 7th & April 9th Read more
Hádoc NOMINATED: Official Competition	Leiria, Portugal	2017, April 18th	Hádoc Official Competition Screening April 18th 21h30, at Miguel Franco Theatre
Bertha DocHouse	London, UK	2017, April 21st – April 28th	Nowhere to Hide will screen daily from Friday 21 April. Check back for more times. Director Zaradasht Ahmed will have Skype Q&A on opening night. Read more
Dokfilm WINNER: Best Feature Length Documentary	Volda, Norway	2017, April 26th – April 30th	Screening April 27th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present
Ambulante	Mexico City & Oaxaca, Mexico	2017, March 23rd – May 25th	Screenings: Read more
Nordic Docs WINNER: Special Jury Award	Fredrikstad, Norway	2017, May 11th – May 14th	Screening May 12th & May 13th Director Zaradasht Ahmed will be present Read more
Doc Aviv	Israel, Tel Aviv	2017, May 11th – May 20th	Screening May 16th & May 17th Read more
TRT Documentary Days	Turkey, Istanbul	2017, May 11th – May 15th	Screening May 12th & May 13th
DOK.fest München WINNER: Best Documentary	Munich, Germany	2017, May 3rd – May 14th	Screening May 7th-9th, May 11th & May 14th Read more
Human Rights Arts and Film festival NOMINATED: HRAFF Impact Award for best feature film	Melbourne, Australia	2017, May 4th – May 18th	Screening May 13th Read more
Docs Against Gravity	Warsaw, Poland	2017, May 12th – May 22nd	Sreening May 14th, May 17th & May 21st Read more
Seattle International Film Festival	Seattle, USA	2017, May 19th – June 11th	Screening May 19th & May 20th Read more
Berkshire International Film Festival WINNER: Best Documentary	Massachusets, USA	2017, May 31st – June 4th	Screening June 2nd Read more
Human Rights Watch Film festival NY WINNER: Director Zaradasht M. Ahmed & Nori Sharif won the 2017 Nestor Almendros Prize for courage in filmmaking	New York, USA	2017, June 9th – June 18th	Opening Night screening June 9th. Followed by discussion with filmmaker Zaradasht Ahmed and producer Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas Read more
San Diego International Documentary Film Series	San Diego, USA	2017, June 13th	Screening June 13th Read more
AFI Docs Silverdocs	Washington, USA	2017, June 14th – June 18th	Screening June 16th Read more
Sydney Film Festival	Sydney, Australia	2017, June 7th – June 18th	Screening June 15th & June 18th Read more
The Norwegian Short Film Festival	Grimstad, Norway	2017, June 14th – June 18th	Screening June 15th & June 16th Read more
Village East Cinema	New York city, USA	2017, June 23rd – June 29th	Q & A with director Zaradasht Ahmed after some of the screenings, every day from Friday 23rd to Wednesday 28th Read more
Laemmle Music Hall	Los Angeles, USA	2017, June 30th – July 6th	Director Zaradasht Ahmed will participate in Q&A’s at the Music Hall opening weekend June 30-July 2nd following the 7:30 PM shows. A different special guest will join him for each screening. Read more
Roxie Theater	San Francisco, USA	2017, June 30th – July 6th	More info here: Read more
Vancity Theatre	Vancouver, Canada	2017, June 30th – July 6th	More info here: Read more
Carlton Cinemas & Kingsway Theatre	Toronto, Canada	2017, Starts June 30th	More info here: Read more Read more
Angelika Pop-up at Union Market	Washington DC, USA	2017, Starts July 7th	More info here: Read more
Facets Cinematheque	Chicago, USA	2017, Starts July 14th	More info here: Read more
Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Art Center	New Orleans, USA	2017, Showtimes TBD	More info here: Read more

What can we do?

Civilians are the number-one casualty in this war. Enough is enough. Help us to get Nowhere to Hide seen by politicians at every level — from local authorities in Iraq to high-ranking members in the American Congress and EU Parliament — so that change can begin immediately.

Nowhere to Hide offers a raw, firsthand look at the undue suffering experienced by Iraqi civilians. We urge you to organise alongside NGOs and humanitarian groups to screen the film at key anti-war and social justice events around the world.

Nori and his family need your help. All donations go to support them and the others featured in this film, also those living in Sa’ad IDP Camp whose lives are at risk every day.

Please mark clearly the purpose of donation as “Nowhere to Hide”