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Letters from Baghdad

  • Archive - Festival 32
  • Director: Zeva Oelbaum, Sabine Krayenbühl
  • USA, United Kingdom, France 2016
  • 95 minutes
  • English, Arabic
  • Subtitles in Hebrew

Letters from Baghdad is the story of a true original - Gertrude Bell - sometimes called the ‘female’ Lawrence of Arabia. The film tells the dramatic story of this British explorer and political powerhouse. Bell traveled widely in Arabia before being recruited by British military intelligence during WWI to help draw the borders of Iraq and as a result helped shape the modern Middle East.
Using stunning, never-seen-before footage of the region, the film chronicles her extraordinary journey into both the uncharted Arabian Desert and the inner sanctum of British colonial power.
New Directors


  • Director Zeva Oelbaum, Sabine Krayenbühl
  • Production Zeva Oelbaum
  • Script Zeva Oelbaum, Sabine Krayenbühl
  • Cinematography Gary Clarke, Petr Hlinomaz
  • Editing Sabine Krayenbühl
  • Music Paul Cantelon
  • Narration Tilda Swinton
  • Source Between the Rivers Productions, New York

Letters from Baghdad