Le Parfum d’Irak

Le Parfum d’Irak tells the story of French-Iraqi journalist Feurat Alani, who grew up in Paris but spent his summers in his family’s homeland: Iraq, a country scarred by Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. After his career as a journalist, he returns to Iraq during the American occupation, where he is confronted with quiet yet haunting memories of war. With refined sensitivity, he paints a portrait of Iraq — a country far more complex than the one-sided images from the evening news, where small, personal stories matter just as much as the bigger picture.

Director Léonard Cohen combines animation with documentary footage to trace Iraq’s transformation: from a land full of promise to a nation marked by dictatorship and occupation. Through animation and archival material, the film balances between nostalgia and loss. The result is a poignant portrait of resilience, bringing to life the tastes, scents, and voices that define Iraq’s past and present.

In 2025, Le Parfum d’Irak was screened at the 15th edition of the Amnesty Film Festival. Its deeply personal and powerful approach to Iraq’s history and present, and to the tireless struggle for truth and memory, made it a perfect fit for the festival’s program.