Iraqi Life,Sliced Just Right

Mohammed Haithem isn't an obvious choice for the main character of Iraq in Fragments' emotional opening chapter. Forced to drop out of school to support his family by working as a mechanic, 11-year-old Mohammed isn't particularly articulate. In fact, director James Longley recorded interviews with him for over a year before the boy began to speak freely and in full sentences. Yet Longley stuck with him. 'You could read his mind just by looking at his face,' explains the 32-year-old doc-maker. 'He's a kid with a strong internal life.' Often ignored by the adults he works alongside in old Baghdad's mixed Sheik Omar neighborhood, Mohammed is an observer in his own country. This, and his childish naiveté, makes him the perfect conduit between Western audiences and Iraqi society.

April 1, 2006

Mohammed Haithem isn't an obvious choice for the main character of Iraq in Fragments' emotional opening chapter. Forced to drop out of school to support his family by working as a mechanic, 11-year-old Mohammed isn't particularly articulate. In fact, director James Longley recorded interviews with him for over a year before the boy began to speak freely and in full sentences. Yet Longley stuck with him. 'You could read his mind just by looking at his face,' explains the 32-year-old doc-maker. 'He's a kid with a strong internal life.' Often ignored by the adults he works alongside in old Baghdad's mixed Sheik Omar neighborhood, Mohammed is an observer in his own country. This, and his childish naiveté, makes him the perfect conduit between Western audiences and Iraqi society.