Koutaiba Al Janabi

Koutaiba Al-Janabi is a British-based Iraqi filmmaker, director and photographer born in Baghdad, who documented Wasteland: Between London and Baghdad and the 2010 award-winning film, Leaving Baghdad.

Koutaiba Al-Janabi (Member of the Hungarian Society of Cinematographers,HSC) is a UK-based Iraqi film director and cinematographer, scriptwriter.

Koutaiba was born in Baghdad, he studied in Budapest, Hungary first photo journalism (http://www.kezmuves-prateru.sulinet.hu) with his diploma project about the Palestinian refugee camps in the Lebanon. He then attended the Budapest Academy of Drama and Cinema (http://www.budapestfilmacademy.com/index.php?lang=en), qualifying as a cinematographer. He studied under Lajos Koltai Oscar-winning cinematographer (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005759/) and the “Hungarian style” of lighting and composition influenced his work significantly. He worked in the Hungarian film and television industry and also completed a PhD on the aesthetics and history of Arabic cinema at ELTE University (http://www.elte.hu/) before relocating to London. Koutaiba worked as a cinematographer on various films, produced and directed programmes for MBC (http://www.mbc.net/ar.html) and produced/directed his own short films and documentaries, eventually moving into scriptwriting and directing feature films. The first feature film Koutaiba wrote/directed/produced was "Leaving Bagdhad" (2011, www.leavingbaghdadfilm.com). Independently produced, the film was well received and won several awards, prizes and is being shown at various festivals and screenings - Raindance, the British Film Institute, the Gulf Film Festival, festivals in Ghent, Monaco, Sweden, Thailand, Fiji, Spain, Germany, Iran etc. selected "Leaving Baghdad" for their programmes.

The main themes in Al-Janabi’s work, both in film and in photography are displacement, alienation, exile.

Feature project in pre-production: "The Window" (teaser trailer shot in Baghdad, available on Vimeo)

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Wikipedia