The Lions by the Tigris River

“‘It’s beautiful here, let’s play,’ says Fakhri, holding a small speaker for Fadil, the violinist. But there is no audience. The two men are standing amid the ruins of Mosul. Three years of occupation by the terrorist organization Islamic State have almost completely destroyed the Old City. … Along with the buildings, the 8,000-year-old history and culture of Iraq’s second-largest city seemed to have been wiped out forever. Slowly, life is returning. Art treasures are being restored; there is theater and music again, and Fakhri’s small private museum … With a steady hand, … Zaradasht Ahmed tells a deeply human story in which he weaves together the darkest and brightest sides of humanity” (DOK Leipzig 2026).

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