Mohamed Al-Daradji’s Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream selected for TIFF Centrepiece

Mohamed Al-Daradji’s Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream will premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, screening as part of TIFF’s Centrepiece programme. Paris-based MPM Premium is handling international sales.

August 25, 2025

SYNOPSIS

Baghdad, October 2019. Chum-Chum, a homeless and dreamy nine-year-old boy, believes the Tigris hides a gateway to the underworld Irkalla, where he can resurrect his parents - an idea sparked by the legend of Gilgamesh. As his friend Moody is dragged into a dark militia plot, Chum-Chum must choose between myth and salvation.

Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream is a tale of grief, faith and the search for light in a city that refuses to die.

MOHAMED AL-DARADJI ABOUT HIS FILM

"Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream is more than a film. It is a return to the lost final tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh - that strange, elusive tablet in which Gilgamesh descends once more into the underworld. Not to seek immortality, but to listen to an unfinished voice, a toy left behind, an echo of laughter, the shadow of what was lost… Enkidu.""

I believe this film is that missing tablet - seen through modern eyes, through the soul of a child called Chum-Chum, a boy with diabetes who doesnʼt descend to Irkalla for glory, but for a father and mother who vanished before he could even ask “Why?”

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Born in Baghdad, Mohamed Al-Daradji is an award-winning filmmaker known for powerful, socially-engaged films such as Son of Babylon (2009) and In the Sands of Babylon (2013).

After studying Film and Television in the Netherlands, he moved to the UK where he gained two degrees in Cinematography and Directing from the Northern Film School in Leeds.

While filming his 2006 film Ahlaam, Al-Daradji and his crew were kidnapped and tortured by Al-Qaeda-affiliated individuals. They eventually managed to escape their captors though not without significant trauma and the loss of some equipment. The terrifying experience led Al-Daradji to question the nature of terrorism and inspired the narrative of his film The Journey (2018).

Alongside his filmmaking career, Mohamed founded the Iraqi Independent Film Center, a pioneering initiative dedicated to nurturing the spirit of independence and creativity among emerging and established Iraqi filmmakers.

INTERVIEWS

Mohamed Al-Daradji is available for interviews prior to as well as during his stay at TIFF (where he will be from 7-12 September) where he will be joined by actor Jabar Al-Janabi and producer Ali Al-Darraji. Send you request to christian@hypepark.be.