Rudaw Media

The footage of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein crawling out of a hole in the ground in 2003 is iconic. Now, 20 years later, the man who dug that hole tells the fantastical story of how he, an ordinary farmer, hid the deposed president beneath a flowerbed in his garden for eight months. On camera, he talks about the day his house was selected as a hideaway for this wanted man, hunted by 150,000 US soldiers. The Iraqi farmer had no choice but to assume the role of presidential hairdresser, physician and bodyguard—and something akin to a friendship seems to have grown between them as they ate together and helped wash each other’s backs.

The greatest Kurdish poet Merwan Berekat in the ruins of his city. In the background, we see a wedding that took place 15 years, before the start of the war and 27 years before the creation of the film. A question arises and may never be answered: What happened to the bride, the groom, and everyone else in the wedding video?

The documentary follows the life and struggles of Kurdish singer Mustafa Dadar (aka Musto Dadar).