Private Project

Where We Belong : Returning to Nineveh Plains

‘Where We Belong’ follows the stories of Abbas, a young Shabak working hard to improve life in the region through a radio show and volunteering, and Alyaa, a female Turkmen lawyer in Iraq, helping families who have been affected by ISIS to claim justice and compensation. The film offers a rare glimpse on what everyday life looks like in post-ISIS rural Iraq.

  • Maren Wickwire
    Director
    Together Apart, Click to remain, Tied Hands, Moriyah, a life journey, Sanctuary and Sustenance
  • Dario Bosio
    Director
  • Maren Wickwire
    Writer
  • Dario Bosio
    Writer
  • Minority Rights Group International
    Producer
  • Manifest Media
    Producer
  • Darst
    Producer
  • Alyaa Al Bayati
    Key Cast
  • Abbas Zainal Abbas
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 18, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    16,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Iraq
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Social World Film Festival
    Vico Equense
    Italy
    July 28, 2019
    Italian Premiere
  • Respect Belfast Human Rights Film Festival
    Belfast
    Ireland
    October 5, 2019
    Ireland Premiere
  • Manifesto Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    September 14, 2019
    Netherland Premiere
  • One World Film Festival
    Bratislava
    Slovakia
    Slovakia Premiere
Director Biography - Maren Wickwire, Dario Bosio

Dario Bosio holds a BA in Journalism, a MA in Visual and Media Anthropology and studied Documentary Photography and Videomaking at DMJX, Denmark. He mainly focuses on migrations and displacement.In the past years, he has collaborated with some of the most respected institutions in documentary photography, including interning at NOOR Images and working at 10b Photography and Metrography.He is the co-producer of the web-documentary Map of Displacement.He has collaborated with some of the most distinguished media outlets in the world (including TIME, Conde Nast, Internazionale, BBC, Al Jazeera, Politiken, British Journal of Photography, RSI among others) and NGOs (Emergency, Save the Children, MRG International) and has held exhibition at festivals and venues worldwide.In 2016 he co-founded DARST, a nomadic art studio for documentary projects. He is currently living in Turin, Italy, where he teaches photography and reportage at the European Institute of Design (IED).

Maren Wickwire holds an M.A. in Visual and Media Anthropology from the Freie Universität in Berlin and studied film and communications design at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen. As the founder of Manifest Media, a nomadic film production company, she has wide-ranging experience in directing, producing and filming documentaries as well as working with multivocal video installations. Maren’s work has been screened at international film festivals and she is recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts grant. In her practice-led research she is focusing on women's issues, globalization, migration and peacemaking as well as conflict resolution. Currently she is conducting research in Cyprus on migrant workers and foreign students and has completed her most recent film on transnational motherhood “Together Apart”. She lives in the United States and works globally. www.marenwickwire.com

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Director Statement

Where we belong : Returning to Nineveh Plains

Iraqi forces have regained control of the Nineveh Plains, ousting ISIS and allowing residents to move back to their old houses after years in exile. But reconstruction doesn't come easy, especially for those belonging to the many ethnic minorities rooted in the area, who face even greater discrimination as they try to coexist in the wake of the sectarian conflict.

This movie follows the stories of Abbas, a young Shabak working hard to improve life in the region through a radio show and volunteering, and Alyaa, a female Turkmen lawyer helping families who have been affected by ISIS to claim justice and compensation.

"Where We Belong" offers a rare glimpse on what everyday life looks like in post-ISIS rural Iraq. Away from the frontlines and the headlines, amidst the rubble and the pain, people are slowly starting to rebuild their lives after one of the saddest times the country has ever seen through deep personal involvement and the willingness to work together for a better future.