Ali Fadhil

2006 Winner of the Sony Impact Award

Shot in Iraq, November 2005 – January 2006
Guardian Films for Channel 4 Television
Broadcast on Channel 4 Dispatches

“Iraq’s Missing Billions”
Ali Fadhil’s images provide shocking evidence of the failure of the US-led reconstruction programme in Iraq. Billions of dollars were spent but his hospital footage shows operating theatres flooded with sewage and the tragic consequences of a lack of the most basic medical equipment. While making this film, Ali’s home in Baghdad was raided by US troops in the middle of the night and he was arrested. The judges described the film as “dripping with intelligence and emotion."

“Ali thought through the lens. As a doctor he had unique insight into what was wrong and let his camera tell the story.”
Judge's Comment

Biography
Ali Fadhil trained as a medical doctor in Iraq and started working in journalism as a second job. He worked as an interpreter and fixer for a variety of news organisations before travelling to the UK to train in documentary film-making. In the past two years, Ali has made films for Channel 4 Television’s Dispatches, Guardian Films and Channel 4 News. His film ‘Fallujah: The First Eye Witness’ was a finalist for The Rory Peck Sony Impact Award in 2005 and won the 2005 Amnesty Media Award

“Filming ‘Iraq’s Missing Billions’ left me with an emotional connection to ordinary Iraqis, who struggle to survive each day. What really shocked me was the suffering they were experiencing due to the failure of the coalitions reconstruction programme. They were paying the price of the coalition’s broken promises. They are struggling without power or clean water. The doctors and nurses in hospitals operate without basic drugs and equipment.”
Cameraman's Comment