RUPTURED CITY

Ruptured City is a short documentary that explores Baghdad during the period of international sanctions, isolation, and Saddam Hussein’s grandiose visions between 1990 and 2003. Through archival footage and interviews with Iraqi experts, the film examines how the city’s urban landscape was reshaped during one of the most difficult periods in its modern history. Focusing on projects such as the Baghdad Tower, the unfinished Al-Rahman Mosque, and the reconstruction efforts following the Gulf War, the documentary reveals how monumental architecture became a tool for projecting the regime’s power, even as sanctions left much of the population struggling with severe shortages. Through the experiences of Iraqi architects and urban planners, Ruptured City uncovers the challenges of designing and building under political pressure, economic hardship, and limited access to materials and technology. Rather than approaching Baghdad through the lens of geopolitics alone, the film tells the story of a city through the people who shaped its built environment, offering a nuanced perspective on architecture, power, and everyday life under sanctions and authoritarian rule.