In the wake of 9/11, Dan Gabriel served nearly ten years as a CIA staff operations officer, establishing himself as an authoritative voice on countering violent extremism. Thus, his debut film MOSUL (88 minutes) is directly informed by his experiences living and working in the Arab world during a period of unprecedented turmoil. As the writer, director, and executive director of the feature documentary MOSUL, his understanding of the culture and peoples of Iraq lend an uncommon authenticity to the film.
Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, was captured by ISIS in June 2014 - and resisted efforts of coalition of forces to retake the city in 2015, and 2016. A third campaign, the largest assault on a city since the 2003 war in Iraq began, was launched in mid-October 2016 and concluded successfully the following the city’s liberation in July 2017. Following the battle, reports emerged suggesting that more than 10,000 people were killed during the campaign, with hundreds or even thousands more, still buried under the rubble. MOSUL the movie recounts the epic battle for the future of Iraq, from the perspective of those in the thick of the fighting. The audience is brought face to face with the key players: the Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribesmen, Shiite militias, and Christian fighters. Gabriel's bold production embedded film crews with several units of coalition forces, capturing a hundred hours of never-before-seen combat footage from the front lines. MOSUL, scheduled for release May 14, 2019, premiered at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival (#CIFF43). |
AuthorMOSUL film highlights human tragedy of ISIS siege. Archives
August 2019
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