The Liberace
The Liberace of Baghdad
The Liberace of Baghdad / Sean McAllister / UK / 2004 / 75 min / English & Arabic
Sean McAllister went to Iraq to film Saddam Hussein's trial. He came back with something quite different. He met Samir Peter, once the pianist of the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra, who has spent the past year entertaining journalists and security guards in a hotel bar. Holed up in a heavily fortified Baghdad hotel, the pianist and the film-maker try to survive the 'peace' of post-war Iraq. In his heyday, Samir described himself as the 'Liberace of Baghdad' but today he sleeps in a bricked up hotel room, too afraid to cross town to his seven-bedroomed mansion. He has a visa for America, where he could find fame and fortune in what he calls his 'one last adventure in life'. Will Samir sacrifice his American dream for the sake of his family in lawless Iraq?
producer | Sean McAllister
camera | Sean McAllister
editor | Ollie Huddleston
sound | Sean McAllister
music | Samir Peter
