My Home - Your War | Women Make Movies

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My Home - Your War

A film by Kylie Grey. Produced by Denoux Films Productions

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SYNOPSIS

MY HOME – YOUR WAR offers an extraordinary look at the effect of the Iraq war through the eyes of an ordinary Iraqi woman. Shot in Baghdad over three years that span the time before, during and after the invasion of Iraq, this profoundly moving film brings a perspective that – until now – has rarely been available to U.S. audiences.

This film combines insightful interviews with Layla Hassan and her family, vibrant scenes of Baghdad and intimate footage shot by Layla herself to paint a compelling picture of how the war has affected average Iraqis. As Islamic fundamentalism takes hold in the chaos of Baghdad, her shy teenage son turns to militancy, her once-progressive sister dons the veil, and whatever freedom Layla once had under Saddam Hussein’s secular rule is steadily being eroded. While facts about the Iraq war garner much U.S. media attention, My Home – Your War is a deeply compelling account of something seldom discussed: how the Iraq war has created a situation where the rise of fundamentalism is putting women’s rights increasingly at risk.

PRESS

“Not only an important contemporary historical document…[but] also a personal account of how Iraqi women have become the first casualties of a democracy denied.”

The Frontline Club, UK

“A vivid portrayal of Iraq, not from the familiar perspective of Western media, but from the perspective of a Sunni Muslim woman who is living through the war in the fringes of Baghdad.”

Terri Ginsberg Seoul International Women’s Film Festival

"Thwarts prevailing neoconservative assertions that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq are justified means of ‘liberating’ Muslim women.”

Author, “Holocaust Film: The Political Aesthetics of Ideology”

"Highly Recommended. 4 Stars, Editor's Choice. Extraordinary. Stands out within the fast expanding world of Iraq-based documentaries."

Video Librarian

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

AU TV ATOM, Best Doc: Social & Political Issues
Australian TV ATOM, Best Doc: Human Story
Gold World Medal, Best Doc in NY
European Independent FF, Best Int’l Doc

Mumbai International Film Festival
Women’s International Film Festival, Seoul, Korea
WT Os International Film Festival, Oslo, Norway
Human Rights Film Festival, Kwangju, South Korea
Global Peace Film Festival, Florida
DeReel Independent Film Festival
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Kylie Grey

Kylie started her working life has a radio journalist at the age of 19 and has been making films about human rights and social issues for the past seven years. Her work as a journalist has taken her to Iraq, Bangladesh, Argentina, The Philippines, Romania, Mozambique, East Timor, Sri Lanka and many more of the world’s flashpoints.

Her first film, CHILD PRISONERS IN THE PHILIIPPINES has been screened around the world and was official selection at the Ghangzou Documentary festival in China in 2004. Her film, CHILD TRAFFICKING - CAMEL JOCKEYS in the Middle East screened on ABC Television Australia and was subsequently awarded the gold world medal in the social issues category at the 2004 New York Film Festival.

For three years, Kylie followed the life of Layla Hassan, a Baghdad woman and her family during the conflict in Iraq. The resulting film, MY HOME YOUR WAR, screened on SBS Television Australia in April 2007 on SBS’s Cutting Edge program to rave reviews and excellent ratings. The film has subsequently won Best Documentary (Human Story) and Best Documentary (Social and Political issues) at Australia’s ATOM awards in October 2007. In 2008, it won the Gold World Medal for Best documentary at the New York Film Festival. MY HOME YOUR WAR has been screened at filmed festivals in Europe, Asia and the U.S.

Kylie worked for Aljazeera English television as a producer and video journalist where she made news feature stories in the developing world. Her story on Agent Orange CHILDREN IN VIETNAM won the best single news report in the Asia Awards.

In 2015, Kylie produced a two hour documentary series called HITTING HOME for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series investigated the scourge of domestic violence on women in Australia. The documentary makers were granted extraordinary access inside women's lives as well as the courts, police and prisons that deal with domestic violence on a daily basis. The series has been nominated for two Logie Awards for best factual program and best presenter(Australian television awards).

Recently, she made twelve more half hour documentaries for Australia's award-winning current affairs show Dateline and is about to embark into the world of freelance filmmaking again so is looking to collaborating with some other great female directors and producers.

Kylie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communications and a Masters degree in Social Science. She is passionate about using the medium of film to give audiences in the Western world an insight into the lives, hearts and minds of people in the developing world. (6/19)

Subject Areas

Family Relations Middle East Military Politics Psychology Sociology War

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