Maysoon Pachachi (born 17 September 1947) is a

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and producer of Iraqi origin. She was educated in Iraq, the U.S., Britain and can speak English,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. She studied

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(BA Hons) and

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

under Thorold Dickinson at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, where visiting lecturers included

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

and

Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama '' The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...

. She has made documentaries in Iraq, Iran,

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, Egypt,

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and Lebanon. Aside from making films, Maysoon has also taught film directing and editing in Britain, Iraq and Palestine (in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Gaza and at

Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...

). She now lives in Britain where she co-founded Act Together: Women Against Sanctions and War on Iraq, a group of UK-based Iraqi and non-Iraqi women formed in 2000 to campaign against the economic sanctions on Iraq. They also campaigned against the

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

. Now the group's focus is on the occupation and the support of independent grassroots women's initiatives in Iraq. She has also written articles on her work in Iraq and Palestine for the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' among other publications. Following the start of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

in 2004, she co-founded with her colleague, Kasim Abid, also a London-based Iraqi filmmaker, the Independent Film & Television College, a non-governmental free-of-charge film-training centre in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Eight films produced by the college's students won prizes at Arab and international festivals. She currently serves as the chair on the board of trustees for the Shubbak festival of contemporary Arab culture. She is the daughter of Iraqi politician

Adnan Pachachi Adnan Muzahim Ameen al-Pachachi () (14 May 1923 – 17 November 2019), better known as Adnan Pachachi, was an Iraqi politician and statesman who served as Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1959–1965 and 1967–1969) and Min ...

.Heroes and Handycams by Cath Clarke
The Guardian 1 May 2009

Filmography

*''Voices from Gaza'' (1989) *''Iraqi Women: Voices from Exile'' (1994) *''Iranian Journey'' (2000) *''Living with the Past: People and Monuments in Medieval Cairo'' (2001) *''Bitter Water'' (2003) *''Return to the Land of Wonders'' (2004) *''Life After the Fall'' (2008) *''Our Feelings took the Pictures: Open Shutters Iraq'' (2008) Also worked on television series "Minder" (1980s)

References

External links

*
Maysoon Pachachi "Women make movies"PachachiMaysoon Pachachi, Iraqi film makerExiled in England with plans for Baghdad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pachachi, Maysoon 1947 births Living people Iraqi film directors Iraqi women film directors Alumni of University College London Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Academic staff of Birzeit University Iraqi documentary filmmakers Women documentary filmmakers Alumni of the London Film School