We're elated to be bringing the film back to Oakland, CA., as part of the Oakland International Film Festival! From Baghdad to The Bay has real roots in this city! Ghazwan spent the first year of his life in the U.S. living in Oakland, Director...
From Baghdad to The Bay finally has an official trailer thanks to our dream team. Check it out and pass it along!...
Ghazwan's story will soon be available in Spanish! A warm thank you to Professor Patricia Quezada and her students at UNIACC University, in Santiago, Chile. As part of the student's final degree projects, they provide pro-bono subtitles for selected films. They prioritize independent films (like...
We've received our 6th film festival award! The Celebration of Courage Award for Outstanding Documentary Film is the highest award from OUT HERE NOW: the Kansas City LGBT Film Festival! Screening details below. We are grateful for the wonderful community of support that has emerged...
We just passed a major milestone - we have finally released the film for educational distribution! This was a challenging learning process for us. Huge thanks to Associate Producer, Kat Cole for helping drive this along and keeping us on time and Assistant Editor, Scott Schwerdtfeger...
As many of you know from the film, Ghazwan is active in our local LGBTQ community, founding and organizing ASHEq. Ghazwan hosts ongoing events for the Middle East North Africa LGBTQ community in San Francisco and the Bay Area. ASHEq first started in November 2014...
From Baghdad to The Bay returns to The Bay! We're excited to be bringing the film home to San Francisco for a FREE community...
Thanks to the incredibly organized and passionate team at AIFF, we had a fantastic time! We were especially impressed with the audience engagement at each of our 5 sold-out screenings. Huge thank you to everyone!...
Associate Producer Kat Cole and I are working hard to prep the film for DVD production and to launch a summer campaign to bring the film to universities and colleges. We are finalizing all the assets for the DVD and educational streaming, which includes things...
This past weekend was full of exciting SOLD OUT screenings at the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival and the Sonoma International Film Festival. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the screenings and to everyone who worked to make these festivals such a success! Extra special thanks to...
Thanks to Producer Neva Tassan who was responsible for introducing us, since 2016, we've been working with professor Jack Lerner and students of the University of California Irvine'sIntellectual Property, Arts, and...
Our 2019 screenings continue with 3 different festivals this weekend! This Saturday we'll be sharing the film in Philadelphia at qFlix and at the Sonoma Film Festival. Then on Sunday, we head to the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival. Director Erin Palmquist and special guests will be at both of...
Our 2019 screenings are already starting to line up and we can't wait to see you at one soon! We are excited to say that we are expanding our reach to New Zealand with a special screening at Doc Edge Pride! Then it's back to the...
For our first "behind the scenes update" I wanted to highlight some of the many tasks in progress by the team. These are just a small part of what makes a film possible....
We are thrilled to share with you that Ghazwan is the new Executive Chef at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco! You can taste his latest creations 7 days a week, 365 days a year at either The Academy Cafe or The Terrace Restaurant!...
What an incredible year 2018 has been! We have screened 23 times for over 2,000 people and won four awards! With each screening, people approach Ghazwan and myself to share the impact the film has had on them. It has been a deeply moving experience! Ghazwan's...
It is with very mixed emotions that I share with you all that From Baghdad to The Bay has been awarded with our fourth award! The Ojai Film Festival selected us to receive their very special Festival Theme Award for Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film....
What a month! We closed the Mill Valley Film Festival out with two incredible screenings last weekend and this week we are screening with the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) on Sunday! We are honored to say that we kicked everything off with a special screening of From...
Last Friday we had a very special screening at the GI Film Festival San Diego and on Saturday night we received the Best First Time Filmmaker Award! This is From Baghdad to The Bay's forth festival and third award!...
The much anticipated and long-awaited day has finally arrived! We are deeply honored to share that From Baghdad to The Bay will have its San Francisco and Oakland Premieres with the Arab Film Festival! Co-presented by Human Rights Watch and the International Rescue Committee, these two very special screenings are not to be missed. And, stay...
We have so much wonderful news that it is hard to know where to start. We even have some exciting news that we can't share just yet...
We have so much wonderful news that it is hard to know where to start. We even have some exciting news that we can't share just yet...
Since our incredible sold out and award winning premier at Cinequest, many of you have been asking if we will be having a screening in our home city of San Francisco and if we...
In this post I wanted to share a behind the scenes story about one of my favorite community efforts that went into making this film and provide a sneak peak into the world of From Baghdad to The Bay animation! Yes, we have animation!...
Today is the day! Our Beacon campaign has launched and we have just released our trailer. Beacon is matching your contributions dollar for dollar for the first $10,000 raised. So, don't wait! Let them double your contribution today....
It is a clear bright California morning when we follow Ghazwan into the historic...
Some of you may recognize this project as Exiled in America. Over six years ago when Jennifer Huang, Karena O'Rirodan, and I sat down to discuss making a film together, we started out with a very different film in mind. It was Karena who sparked our...
