Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Gonzo-style documentary follows journalists Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti from VICE magazine as they attempt to track down the one and only heavy-metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. With the magazine's help, the band managed to put on a sold-out show following Saddam Hussein's ouster in the summer of 2005. More than a year later, the VICE crew heads back to Iraq in hopes of locating the band once again. What they find is both country and band torn apart by war, with buildings and rehearsal studios destroyed by bombs and band members unable to traverse the bullet-filled blocks that separate them. The film presents a glimpse into the youth culture of modern Iraq, introducing young Iraqis steeped in American pop culture, while registering the omnipresent violence that threatens to overwhelm any situation. Candid interviews with the band members offer a new vantage point on a modern generation yearning for change but driven from their homeland by the fog of war.