Iraqi Odyssey (Arabic: çÃÂãÃÂïÃÂóé çÃÂùñçÃÂÃÂé, romanized: al-ÿAwdassi al-ÿIrÃÂqiyya) is a 2014 Swiss documentary film written and directed by Samir. It was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. The film won awards including the Best Asian Film Award at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the 2015 Zurich Film Prize.
The film contrasts contemporary Western media images of Iraq with footage from the 1950s and 1970s, and follows director Samir as he tells the story of his globally dispersed Iraqi middle-class family, whose members are scattered across Auckland, Moscow, Paris, London, and Buffalo.
The film won awards including the Best Asian Film Award at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the 2015 Zurich Film Prize, and third place in the documentary category at the 2016 Zurich Film Prize. It was also nominated for Best Documentary Film at the 2015 Swiss Film Award.
In August 2015, Iraqi Odyssey was one of seven films shortlisted for consideration as SwitzerlandâÂÂs entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. Later that month, it was selected as SwitzerlandâÂÂs official submission. It failed to make the AcademyâÂÂs nine-film shortlist for the category.
The Hollywood Reporter described Iraqi Odyssey as an ambitious and timely account of a liberal Iraqi family in diaspora, but said that âÂÂfeelings get swept under the carpet in favor of repetitive globe-trottingâÂÂ.
Filmdienst described Iraqi Odyssey as a documentary in which Samir traces his Iraqi roots through the stories of his family and the decline of Iraq, and said that despite visible breaks caused by family conflicts and the filmâÂÂs long production, the project felt cohesive.
SRF described it as a monumental documentary that weaves the fate of SamirâÂÂs family together with the history of Iraq, and called it a celebration of storytelling marked by black humour despite its tragedy.
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on five critic reviews, indicating âÂÂmixed or average reviewsâÂÂ.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015. It was later screened at festivals including the 2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the 2015 Gijón International Film Festival, the 2015 Iran International Documentary Film Festival (Cinema Verité), the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the 2016 MinneapolisâÂÂSaint Paul International Film Festival.