Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream - A Fusion of Myth and Reality through Animation

Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream is a unique international project where live-action cinema is organically combined with hand-drawn animation created by the Ukrainian studio Darvideo. Their contribution was key in conveying the emotional and visual context of the film, which tells a story about memory, loss, and hope against the backdrop of the war in Iraq. The film’s premiere at Locarno and screening in Toronto confirm its significance on the global film platform.

Why You Should See “Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream”

This is a rare film that blends Iraqi myth, the reality of war, and delicate hand-drawn animation. It speaks the universal language of loss and hope, with every frame taking you on an emotional journey through memory and dreams. Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream isn’t just watched – it stays with you long after the credits roll.

First Step into the World of the Film

In August 2025, the world premiere of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream (Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish) by Iraqi director Mohammed Jabari Al-Deraji will take place at the Locarno Film Festival. The film blends live-action footage with animated inserts created by the Ukrainian Darvideo Animation Studio, which help to deepen the portrayal of the characters’ inner worlds through the lens of memory, myth, and personal trauma.

“Irkalla is my return to a wound that never healed – a myth reborn through the soul of a child. Not just a film, but a whispered resistance against silence, and a dream that memory, love, and myth can still save us,” said Al-Deraji presenting the film at the Locarno Film Festival 2025 program.

After the Locarno screening, the film will be featured in the program of the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the largest film forums in North America.

The Film Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream: Plot and the Role of Animation in Exploring the Theme

Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream (Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish) is a poetic drama that combines live-action scenes with expressive authorial animation. At the heart of the story is a woman who returns to her native coastal village to rediscover the lost pieces of her own memory. The past unfolds through fragments of dreams, mythological images, and childhood memories, where the legends of Gilgamesh and the underworld Irkalla come to life.

The official TIFF description states:

“Blending live action and animation, Irkalla is a haunting meditation on memory, identity, and displacement, as a woman confronts her fractured past in a place where myth and reality intertwine.”

 

The visual language of the film is built on alternating realistic shots and animated sequences that immerse the viewer into the protagonist’s inner world. Animation becomes the key to revealing the theme – it conveys emotional states that cannot be depicted with a regular camera.

The Team, International Collaboration, and Co-production of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream

Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream is a large-scale international co-production project that brought together talents and resources from six countries: Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, France, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. This format allowed for the gathering of significant financial and creative resources, enhancing the production quality and ensuring broad international resonance of the film. This multinational alliance illustrates the modern trend toward collaboration in cinema, especially on auteur projects with profound themes.

Producer support was provided by the Italian studio Alps Studios, led by Mara Frelich, responsible for coordinating post-production, organizing international distribution, and providing technical support. Alps Studios has extensive experience working with auteur cinema and co-production projects across Europe.

The film received financial and organizational support from leading international funds and organizations:

• Doha Film Institute (Qatar) – supporting innovative cinema at the regional level, grant for post-production;
• Région Île-de-France (France) – a regional cultural fund for the development of arts in Francophone countries;
• Red Sea Fund (Saudi Arabia) – a fund for the development of Middle Eastern cinematography;
• Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) – support for Arab artists and cultural projects;
• as well as support from the French Embassy.

This international format allowed the involvement of experts from different countries, significantly enhancing production quality and contributing to active distribution of the film on the international stage.

The Contribution of Darvideo and Alps Studios to the Creation of Animation

Within the co-production project, the Ukrainian studio Darvideo Animation Studio, led by Yuriy Polyashko, played a key role in creating hand-drawn animation. The animated inserts they developed became a central element of the film’s visual language, deeply revealing the inner world of the main characters and creating an atmosphere of mythological imagery that organically blends with live-action footage.

Director Mohammed Al-Deraji personally supervised the animation process, closely collaborating with the Darvideo team. This close cooperation allowed for maximum alignment between animated segments and live-action shots, making the animation not merely a supplement but a full-fledged artistic tool of the film.

At the same time, Alps Studios was responsible for organizing production processes, coordinating teams, and providing technical support, ensuring coordinated work between studios and locations, which significantly increased production efficiency.

This experience became a milestone for Darvideo, confirming their ability to work internationally on complex auteur film projects where animation plays a key role in artistic expression.

Director Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji: Biography, Work, and Motivation

The director of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream is Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji – an Iraqi-Dutch filmmaker born on August 6, 1978, in Baghdad. He received theatrical education in Iraq and later earned a master’s degree in cinematography and directing at the Northern Film School in Leeds, United Kingdom.

His debut feature film Ahlaam (2006) was presented at over 125 international festivals, winning more than 22 awards and being considered for Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. His next project, Son of Babylon (2010), brought him significant international acclaim, receiving the Amnesty Film Award and Peace Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, NETPAC Award at Karlovy Vary, Raindance Award, Grand Jury Prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival, and became Iraq’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. In 2010, Variety magazine named him Middle Eastern Filmmaker of the Year.

A personal motivation for Al-Daradji’s creativity is a family history of loss – his aunt lost her son during the Iran-Iraq war. The director calls this pain the source of inspiration permeating his films, combining themes of suffering and hope.

About his new film, he said at the Locarno Film Festival 2025 program:

“Irkalla is my return to a wound that never healed – a myth reborn through the soul of a child. Not just a film, but a whispered resistance against silence.” – these words emphasize the depth of the personal and artistic meaning of the film, which reveals complex stories of memory, trauma, and hope.

Festival History of the Film

Locarno Film Festival 2025

The film Irkalla – Gilgamesh’s Dream (Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish) was officially selected for the program of the 78th Locarno Film Festival, held from August 6 to 16, 2025, at Piazza Grande – an open-air venue capable of hosting thousands of spectators every evening.

The Locarno synopsis describes:

In the streets of Baghdad, a dreaming nine-year-old boy named Chum-Chum, who suffers from diabetes, believes that the Tigris hides the gates to the Irkalla underworld, where he can revive his parents – an idea borrowed from the legend of Gilgamesh. At the moment when his friend Mudi becomes entangled in a police conspiracy, Chum-Chum must choose between myth and reality – a story about grief, faith, and the search for hope in a city that never fades. Locarno Festivalfilmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025

In the TIFF program, the film is marked as the North American Premiere with the following description:

Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji returns to the festival with a heartfelt and epic story about war orphans trying to survive in the ruins of a shattered city.

Co-production Context

The project is part of a large-scale international co-production involving Iraq, UAE, Qatar, France, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. Supporters include the Doha Film Institute, Région Île-de-France, Red Sea Fund, AFAC, as well as ER La France at the embassy level, Image Nation Abu Dhabi, and Archyde.

Plot Outline and Main Themes of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream

Image Nation Abu Dhabi / Locarno Film Festival:

The film tells the story of a homeless boy, Chum-Chum, who suffers from diabetes, and his friend Mudi. Chum-Chum believes that the legendary Gilgamesh will help him reach the underworld Irkalla to resurrect his deceased parents. The narrative combines ancient myth with the harsh reality of Baghdad’s streets, creating an atmosphere of hope in a city that seemingly cannot die.

Cineuropa:

Irkalla is a meditative story about memory, identity, and displacement. The film centers on a woman who confronts her fractured past in a space where myth and reality intertwine. This description highlights the overall artistic tone of the film.

Doha Film Institute:

Under the Fall 2023 post-production grant, the plot is described as follows: Chum-Chum is a dreamy nine-year-old homeless boy with diabetes, and his friend Mudi is a thirteen-year-old boy living on the streets of Baghdad, stealing and devising survival plans. Mrs. Maryam is a woman who operates an old two-story bus where she taught these children and showed them an animated film about Gilgamesh and the underworld Arkala. Chum-Chum sees Gilgamesh pulling bodies from the river and dares to befriend him. Meanwhile, Mudi plans to escape to the Netherlands together with Chum-Chum and his sister Sara. He forces Sara to work in a nightclub and participates in a terrorist act at Tahrir Square. Chum-Chum fights to save his friend and fulfill his dream.

IMDb:

The film depicts war-torn Baghdad through the eyes of a nine-year-old diabetic boy searching for his deceased parents through the mythical gates to Irkalla in the Tigris River, while his friend risks getting involved with militarized youth. It is a story about loss, hope, and a difficult childhood amidst war.

Thus, Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream is a multilayered narrative that combines personal tragedies with mythological imagery, creating a profound metaphor for memory, trauma, and hope against the backdrop of contemporary conflicts.

Summary

The film masterfully blends mythology and reality, embodying through the character of Chum-Chum a metaphor of deep childhood loss, hope, and how the past can be reconstructed. Key themes include:

Technical Features of the Animation and Distribution Plans

In the animated segments of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream, the Darvideo Animation Studio team applied modern hand-drawn animation techniques, combining traditional manual drawing with digital technologies. This allowed them to create a unique visual palette that reflects the atmosphere of myth while conveying the subtle emotional states of the characters.

Under the leadership of Yuriy Polyashko, the animators actively collaborated with director Mohammed Al-Deraji, receiving detailed directorial feedback that helped balance the animation style with the live-action footage. As a result, the animation became not just inserts but an integral part of the film’s narrative structure.

Regarding distribution, following its premiere at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival 2025 and screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, further dissemination of the film at other international festivals and commercial release in several countries is planned. Engaging a wide audience will help draw attention to contemporary auteur cinema that combines live-action and animation forms.

The Closing Path of the Film

Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream is a striking example of contemporary auteur cinema that skillfully merges live-action film with hand-drawn animation. Thanks to the collaboration of talented professionals from different countries and the support of leading institutions, the film has become not only an artistic expression but also an important cultural event on the international film stage.

The film opens new possibilities for co-production projects where animation does not merely illustrate but deeply reveals themes of memory, trauma, and hope. The participation of Arkala Gilgamesh’s Dream in the prestigious Locarno and Toronto festivals testifies to its high quality and the relevance of its themes in today’s world.

This project confirms that stories created with soul and professionalism can unite international audiences and leave a lasting mark on cinema.