KILOMETER ZERO
by Hiner Saleem
Synopsis: Iraq, 1988… Young husband and father Ako is forced to join Saddam Hussein’s army. The unwilling soldier dreams of fleeing the country, but his wife Selma refuses to leave while her old bedridden father is still alive. Ako is sent away to the frontline of the Iran-Iraq War, where he experiences not only the reality of war, but also abuse due to his Kurdish background. The desperate man considers drastic measures for a fast ticket home. Ako thinks it’s his lucky day when he receives orders to escort the return of a fellow soldier’s corpse to his family. But his driver turns out to be an anti-Kurd Arab. With flag-wrapped coffin in tow, the mismatched duo prepares for an unexpected voyage across the majestic Iraqi landscape . Ako won’t miss his chance to trick the driver into heading north toward the Kurdistan region…
2005 / France, Kurdistan / 96 min
“A beautifully shot road movie with political punch”
— Screen Daily
