FACTUAL


anyone like that interviewed before for a documentary on the Iraq War. And he was very relatable.” Securing the cast – and


their trust – was not as hard as some might think. “The Iraqis were really,


really keen for someone to tell their story and be listened to. They were ready to trust, too - which slightly surprised me,” he recalls. And it was the same for the American contributors in the film. “I think people had


simply stopped asking them about the Iraq War. There’s a fatigue about the subject. Yet over the years since, a lot of those soldiers had gained a really interesting


felt like it hadn’t been done before. And it was an interesting space to work in.” For first-hand, character-driven narrative,


casting is – of course – key. “The bar was high in terms of who we


should focus on. And it was a bit intimating at the beginning. But there were various different angles you could take. And we began with solid research, reading about interesting people and interesting stories, looking at the archive and cast backwards from that,” he continues. “I like to look around the edges to find


voices that bring a different attitude. And that’s how we found, for example Waleed – the lead singer of a heavy metal band


in Saddam’s time. With someone like that, you know they’ve got to be unique and interesting.”


I WANTED TO FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMB TRAIL BACK FROM TO THE RISE OF ISIS THEN ALL THE WAY BACK AGAIN TO THE INVASION OF IRAQ


Within minutes of a preliminary Zoom to


sound him out, Bluemel says it was obvious Waleed would be an amazing contributor: “He was great because he had a really unusual and interesting take on things. I’d never seen


sense of perspective on it. There seemed an overwhelming need, a willingness, and a desire to talk – even if it meant digging up a lot of painful memories.” Though Bluemel admits he sensed during filming what they were doing was “good”, he insists he was surprised at how powerfully the finished films really punched through. “Looking back, I suspect that’s all to do


with the cast,” he demurs. “Despite the many pitfalls of taking on a


story as complex as Iraq, however, the fact that everyone in the film when they saw it was happy with how they were represented – and I mean everyone, across the board – is what made me very happy.”


THE BBC’S BEST ORIGINAL SCORES


The soundtracks to the best BBC documentaries and dramas. From renowned nature programmes to emotive period pieces, this label showcases the work of the world’s foremost public broadcaster.


THE RECORDED MUSIC LIBRARY The best writers and performers at the best recording studios in the world. The highest quality music for film and TV recorded, mixed and mastered at the world famous Abbey Road Studios.


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