The Lions By The River Tigris

About the film

One of the world’s oldest cities, Mosul was left in ruins after years of ISIS occupation and the devastating battle for liberation. In this unexpectedly hopeful film, we follow three men who try to rebuild not just the city, but also its soul. Bashar, a fisherman, returns again and again to his bombed-out family home by the Tigris, where a carved marble lintel, featuring the two lions in the film’s title, is the last relic still standing from his past. Fakhri, a flamboyant antiques collector, dreams of placing the lions at the entrance of his self-made museum, while Fadel, a musician, revives songs that were banned during the ISIS rule. Director Zaradasht Ahmed captures with dignity and tenderness a city slowly re-emerging from its trauma.