24 Best Iraqi Movies: The Ultimate Introduction to Iraqi Films

Iraqi movies often feel like places you can touch: dust on a road, a radio in a kitchen, a city corner that remembers everything. They’re known for close-to-the-bone realism, intimate performances, and moral pressure that builds quietly. War and sanctions shaped production, but the storytelling keeps returning to family bonds, survival humor, and identity under strain. Even when the frame is small, the stakes can feel enormous. Quiet tension is a signature. Across decades, the cinema moves from early local classics to Kurdish-language breakthroughs and an urgent new wave of filmmakers. Titles like Turtles Can Fly, Son of Babylon, and My Sweet Pepper Land show how the country’s screen culture can be both raw and lyrical. You can feel Baghdad stories in the background, even when the action is far away.

This guide is built to help you navigate Iraqi cinema by mood, era, and comfort level, not just by reputation. Each entry gives a quick snapshot—year, director, genre, tone, suitability, and an IMDb rating—so you can choose with confidence. Some films are emotionally heavy, others surprisingly warm, and a few are pure narrative momentum. Start gentle if you’re new. If you’re a cinephile, you’ll find craft-forward picks that reward close watching. If you’re watching with a mixed household, the “Suitable for” line matters more than you think. We also include Kurdish cinema alongside Arabic-language work where it best represents the country’s breadth. Use the list for double-bills, mini-marathons, or a single strong choice on a weekend night. The goal is simple: press play and feel oriented.

How we picked Iraqi movies

We prioritized films connected to Iraq across eras and styles—fiction features and a few documentaries—while keeping an eye on accessibility, intensity, and rewatch value. To reflect the country’s range within Middle Eastern cinema, we mixed intimate character studies with wider historical canvases and diaspora filmmakers where the Iraqi perspective is central. Only titles with an IMDb rating of 6.5/10 or above were considered, and the ranking runs from the lowest qualifying score at #24 up to the highest at #1. All IMDb ratings in this article were verified on 21 February 2026.

24. Underexposure (2005)

• Actors: Samar Qahtan, Meriam Abbas, Hussein Abdul Kareem
• Director: Oday Rasheed
• Genre: drama
• Tone: gritty, reflective
• Suitable for: adults only
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

A young filmmaker drifts through Baghdad, trying to complete a project while daily life keeps interrupting him. The story stays close to streets, apartments, and conversations that feel overheard rather than staged. It’s about art under pressure and a city that won’t slow down for anyone’s plans. The film carries an observational sadness without turning sentimental. The pacing is loose, almost wandering. Yet the tension is real. Among Iraqi movies, it’s a sharp portrait of making anything at all in a fractured moment. Best for viewers who like realism and can handle rough edges.

23. Zaman, the Man from the Reeds (2003)

• Actors: Sami Kaftan, Shatha Salim, Saadia Zeidi
• Director: Amer Alwan
• Genre: drama
• Tone: humane, bittersweet
• Suitable for: teens and up
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

A doctor navigates bureaucracy and daily compromises while trying to do right by the people around him. The setting is lived-in, with small errands carrying moral weight. It’s a film about dignity, patience, and what gets sacrificed in the name of survival. The emotions land quietly, not with grand speeches. Simple scenes hit hard. The rhythm is steady and gentle, but the undercurrent is anxious. Its grounded compassion earns it a place on this list. Best for viewers who want a character-led story with low violence.

22. In the Sands of Babylon (2013)

• Actors: Samer Mohamed, Ameer Ali, Jabarah Hassan
• Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji
• Genre: drama
• Tone: tense, haunting
• Suitable for: adults only
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A man searches for someone he lost to the machinery of detention and disappearance. The plot keeps moving, but it never lets you forget the fear behind each lead. It’s a story about memory, accountability, and the way institutions can erase a life. The mood is heavy. Expect restraint, not spectacle. The film’s pacing alternates between investigative momentum and moments of stillness that sting. It belongs here for how clearly it turns personal grief into national trauma without melodrama. Best for viewers ready for serious themes and emotional intensity.

21. Baghdad Messi (2023)

• Actors: Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, Atheer Adel, Zahraa Ghandour
• Director: Sahim Omar Kalifa
• Genre: family drama
• Tone: hopeful, tender
• Suitable for: older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A football-obsessed kid wants a single bright thing in a hard place, and his dream becomes a quiet motor for the whole story. The setup is simple, but the emotions build through everyday details. It explores childhood resilience and the way adults carry worry in their bodies. The film leans warm even when the world isn’t. Small joys matter. The pacing is accessible and gently dramatic, with stakes that feel human rather than plotty. It earns its spot by showing how hope can survive inside routine struggle. Best for families who want a sensitive, uplifting watch.

20. Said Effendi (1957)

• Actors: Yousif Al-Ani, Salima Khudair, Sami Abdul-Hamid
• Director: Kameran Hosni
• Genre: drama
• Tone: observant, classic
• Suitable for: teens and up
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A middle-class household becomes a lens on social expectations and quiet unrest. The premise is modest, built around daily decisions rather than big twists. It’s a film about class, responsibility, and how “respectability” can trap people. The performances play in an older register, but the emotions still read clearly. Time capsule energy, in a good way. The pacing is measured, with scenes that linger on gesture and conversation. It belongs on the list for its early, foundational view of modern Iraqi life on screen. Best for viewers curious about classic-era storytelling and social themes.

19. Voices of Iraq (2004)

• Actors: Maysoon Pachachi, Abbas Fahdel, Iraqi civilians (various)
• Director: (multiple contributors)
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: immediate, mosaic-like
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

This documentary stitches together everyday footage shot by Iraqis themselves, creating a chorus rather than a single narrator. The premise is radical in its simplicity: hand people cameras and let them record their lives. It becomes a portrait of ordinary routines under extraordinary pressure. The emotional feel varies moment to moment, which is the point. It’s vivid. The pacing is episodic, like flipping through lived memory. It belongs here because it captures texture—voices, rooms, streets—that scripted films can’t easily fake. Best for viewers who want firsthand atmosphere and can handle real-world context.

18. The Exam (2021)

• Actors: Avan Jamal, Vania Salar, Hussein Hassan Ali
• Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
• Genre: drama
• Tone: claustrophobic, psychological
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A young woman enters a high-stakes exam that turns into something far stranger than a test of knowledge. The setup is stripped-down and controlled, letting tension build inside small rooms and small choices. It’s about pressure, manipulation, and what ambition costs when authority is arbitrary. The emotional feel is uneasy. No easy exits. The pacing is tight and deliberate, with mounting dread rather than jump scares. It earns its place for turning a familiar life event into a sharp moral thriller without losing realism. Best for viewers who like contained dramas with psychological bite.

17. Dawn of the World (2008)

• Actors: Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass, Karim Saleh
• Director: Abbas Fahdel
• Genre: drama
• Tone: lyrical, tragic
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

A young couple tries to build a life while war keeps shifting the ground beneath them. The story is intimate, focused on love and routine rather than battlefield action. It explores grief, displacement, and how history can intrude on the most private hopes. The film is emotionally direct. It hurts. The pacing is patient, leaning on atmosphere and careful performance. It belongs among the best for its ability to make large conflicts feel personal without sensationalism. Best for viewers who want romance shaded by political reality.

Did you know that the most famous Iraqi movies movie is:

Turtles Can Fly (2004) is widely treated as the international reference point because it broke through on the festival circuit and became a go-to title in discussions of modern Iraqi Kurdish filmmaking. As a measurable proxy for reach, its worldwide box-office gross is reported at $1,013,880, a figure compiled from box-office reporting tracked by The Numbers. Box-office data for regional releases can be incomplete, so this number is best read as a documented floor rather than a full census of audiences. The director, Bahman Ghobadi, is celebrated for mixing neoreal textures with urgent political context, and the young cast carries the film with startling naturalism. The premise follows children living near a border as conflict approaches, with survival routines turning into fragile acts of community. It is famous for its Cannes Golden Camera win and for putting a rarely seen landscape—and its children—at the center of the frame. Internationally, it traveled widely through festivals and art-house distribution, reaching viewers far beyond Iraq’s borders and diaspora communities. Critics frequently cite it as a landmark for how it depicts war’s impact without propaganda or heroic varnish. For current availability, it is most reliably found on major rental platforms, with access varying by country. Unforgettably direct, and quietly humane.

16. Return to the Land of Wonders (2004)

• Actors: Maysoon Pachachi, Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi citizens (various)
• Director: Maysoon Pachachi
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: reflective, observational
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

A filmmaker returns after years away and records what daily life looks like as politics reshapes the city around her. The premise is personal: one camera, one point of view, and a lot of listening. It explores belonging, disorientation, and the uneasy gap between public history and private routine. The emotional feel is contemplative. The film breathes. The pacing is episodic, moving between public meetings and street-level moments. It earns its spot by capturing a transition period with patience rather than headlines. Best for viewers who like first-person documentaries and political context.

15. Hanging Gardens (2022)

• Actors: Wissam Diyaa, Jawad Al Shakarji, Hussain Muhammad Jalil
• Director: Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
• Genre: drama
• Tone: dark, tender
• Suitable for: adults only
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

Two brothers scrape by at a Baghdad dump, where survival depends on what you can salvage. The story pivots when the younger one finds an object that becomes both a secret and a symbol. It explores poverty, shame, and the strange ways tenderness appears in harsh environments. The mood is unsettling. Still, it’s compassionate. The pacing is steady, with scenes that build dread through quiet observation rather than shocks. It belongs among the best for its fearless setting and its empathy for kids forced to grow up too fast. Best for viewers ready for grim realism and difficult imagery.

14. Memories on Stone (2014)

• Actors: Hussein Hassan, Nazmi Kirik, Shima Molaei
• Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
• Genre: drama
• Tone: urgent, meta-cinematic
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

Two friends try to make a film about past atrocities, and the act of filming becomes its own struggle. The premise blends behind-the-scenes friction with a larger reckoning about what can be shown. It’s about trauma, representation, and the politics of memory. The emotions swing between hope and exhaustion. Filmmaking feels dangerous. The pacing is energetic, with tension coming from both logistics and conscience. It earns its place for making cinema itself the battleground, not just the subject. Best for viewers who like stories about art, history, and moral complexity.

13. My Sweet Pepper Land (2013)

• Actors: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta
• Director: Hiner Saleem
• Genre: drama
• Tone: rugged, romantic
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

A former fighter becomes a policeman in a remote Kurdish village and immediately clashes with a local strongman. The premise plays like a frontier story, with honor and intimidation shaping every interaction. It’s about independence, reputation, and the cost of resisting small tyrannies. The emotional feel is defiant. It’s surprisingly funny. The pacing is brisk, mixing romance, threat, and community conflict without losing clarity. It belongs here because it turns Kurdish cinema’s political stakes into a propulsive, character-driven tale. Best for viewers who want a genre-leaning drama with edge and heart.

12. Dreams of Sparrows (2005)

• Actors: Hayder Daffar, Iraqi children (various), Iraqi families (various)
• Director: Hayder Daffar
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: heartbreaking, intimate
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

This documentary follows children living amid the wreckage of conflict and the routines that replace stability. The setup is observational, letting faces and small actions carry the meaning. It explores innocence under strain and how families improvise futures when institutions fail. The emotional feel is raw. It lingers. The pacing is slow in a deliberate way, asking you to stay with moments you might want to look away from. It earns its place by refusing to turn children into symbols and instead showing them as full people. Best for viewers prepared for real-world hardship and emotional weight.

11. Son of Babylon (2009)

• Actors: Shazada Hussein, Yasser Talib, Reem Al-Rawi
• Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji
• Genre: drama
• Tone: mournful, resilient
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A boy and his grandmother travel across a wounded landscape searching for news of a missing father. The premise is straightforward, but each stop adds another layer of grief and endurance. It’s about loss, family duty, and the long shadow of political violence. The emotional feel is tender. It’s quietly devastating. The pacing is road-movie steady, with scenes that deepen character rather than chase twists. Among Iraqi movies, it stands out for turning national tragedy into a human journey you can follow step by step. Best for viewers who want a serious film that still offers warmth and hope.

10. Crossing the Dust (2006)

• Actors: Adil Abdolrahman, Ayam Akram, Hossein Hasan
• Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
• Genre: war drama
• Tone: tense, humanistic
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A Kurdish soldier escorts a blindfolded prisoner across dangerous territory, and the journey reshapes both men. The premise is clean and suspenseful, built on movement through uncertain space. It’s about trust, dehumanization, and the thin line between duty and conscience. The emotional feel is taut. No swagger here. The pacing is propulsive, with danger arriving through terrain, checkpoints, and misunderstandings. It belongs among the best for turning a war setup into a moral chamber piece that still thrills. Best for viewers who can handle conflict themes without needing graphic combat.

9. Reseba: The Dark Wind (2016)

• Actors: Kania Kurda, Bawan Khaleq, Nazer Salami
• Director: Hussein Hassan
• Genre: drama
• Tone: harrowing, resolute
• Suitable for: adults only
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A young Yazidi woman fights to rebuild her life after captivity, and the film follows the aftermath rather than the headlines. The premise centers on recovery, family, and the complicated return to “normal.” It’s about trauma, community, and the courage to keep going when language fails. The emotional feel is heavy. It is not easy. The pacing is steady and empathetic, with intensity coming from memory and social pressure more than plot shocks. It earns its place for treating survival as an active, ongoing act rather than a neat ending. Best for viewers ready for difficult subject matter and serious content.

The Iraqi movies is mostly famous for:

One signature trait is grounded realism that treats ordinary spaces—kitchens, streets, buses—as the true stage of history. Another hallmark is emotionally direct performance, where restraint can hit harder than melodrama. The cinema’s arc moves from early local classics into long periods of disruption, then toward a modern wave fueled by co-productions and festival visibility. Industry-wise, many projects are made through small companies, international partnerships, and determined crews rather than large studio systems. Common genres lean toward social drama, intimate road stories, and post-conflict coming-of-age because those forms hold everyday truth well. Internationally, festivals have been crucial, often serving as the first gateway for wider audiences and critics. Language and culture specificity is a strength: Kurdish and Arabic dialogue, local humor, and regional detail give these films a distinct pulse. Modern challenges include funding instability and distribution gaps, but digital circulation also creates new opportunities for filmmakers and audiences. For newcomers, start with one accessible character drama, then add a Kurdish-language title, then a documentary for texture. With that map in mind, the next stretch of films widens the emotional palette.

8. Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream (2025)

• Actors: Ameer Jabarah, Samar Kazem Jawad, Hussein Raad Zuwayr
• Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji
• Genre: drama
• Tone: mythic, contemporary
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

A modern story reimagines the Gilgamesh myth inside an urban Iraq that still carries ancient echoes. The premise blends present-day pressures with archetypal longing, letting myth feel lived rather than museum-like. It’s about grief, endurance, and the human need to name what hurts. The emotional feel is searching. Strange, in a good way. The pacing moves in waves, balancing realism with symbolic moments that invite interpretation. It belongs among the best for showing how old stories can illuminate contemporary wounds without preaching. Best for viewers who like artful drama and cultural myth reframed for today.

7. Jani Gal (2007)

• Actors: Nzar Salami, Renas Wrya, Abdul Hamajwan
• Director: Jamil Rostami
• Genre: drama
• Tone: intense, historical
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A political and personal story unfolds through Kurdish experience, shaped by the weight of history and ideology. The premise follows characters caught between loyalty, survival, and the cost of speaking plainly. It’s about oppression, dignity, and what resistance looks like when it’s dangerous to name. The emotional feel is serious. It has steel. The pacing is deliberate, giving speeches and silences room to land without rushing. It earns its place for combining historical scope with intimate character pressure, a hallmark of strong Kurdish cinema. Best for viewers who want a rigorous drama with political stakes.

6. The President’s Cake (2025)

• Actors: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat
• Director: Hasan Hadi
• Genre: drama
• Tone: tense, compassionate
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A child faces an impossible civic demand that turns a simple task into a quiet fight for safety and dignity. The premise uses one concrete goal to reveal how power operates in everyday life. It’s about fear, ingenuity, and the way communities negotiate survival under pressure. The emotional feel is intimate. Kids carry the weight. The pacing is focused and suspenseful without becoming sensational, letting small obstacles feel momentous. Among Iraqi movies, it’s a modern standout for how it translates political reality into a story you can feel in your chest. Best for viewers who like tense dramas told through a child’s perspective.

5. Turtles Can Fly (2004)

• Actors: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Hiresh Feysal Rahman
• Director: Bahman Ghobadi
• Genre: drama
• Tone: heartbreaking, vivid
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 8.0/10

Children in a border region try to piece together safety while war approaches, and their routines become the story’s pulse. The premise follows daily survival—work, rumors, small alliances—rather than military action. It’s about childhood interrupted, communal care, and the way fear reorganizes time. The emotional feel is devastating. It stays with you. The pacing is energetic and urgent, mixing moments of humor with sudden drops into grief. It earns its place because it shows political catastrophe through the eyes of kids without turning them into props. Best for viewers ready for strong emotion and serious themes.

4. Homeland: Iraq Year Zero (2015)

• Actors: Abbas Fahdel, Haidar Fahdel, Iraqi families (various)
• Director: Abbas Fahdel
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: immersive, patient
• Suitable for: adults only
• IMDb rating: 8.3/10

This epic documentary watches everyday life before and after the 2003 invasion, refusing the shortcuts of “explainer” TV. The setup is simple: stay with families, meals, jokes, arguments, and ordinary time as it changes shape. It explores uncertainty, resilience, and how history enters a living room. The emotional feel is intimate. Hours pass like life. The pacing is deliberately expansive, and the length is part of its ethical stance: real change takes time to see. It belongs among the best for turning “the news” into human texture and for the tenderness that persists amid fear. Best for viewers ready for a long, absorbing experience and heavy context.

3. Back to Babylon (2002)

• Actors: Abbas Fahdel, Iraqi civilians (various), Iraqi returnees (various)
• Director: Abbas Fahdel
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: searching, reflective
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 8.7/10

A filmmaker returns to Iraq and builds a portrait out of encounters, conversations, and what the streets reveal. The premise is travel-as-inquiry, where each meeting adds another facet to the country’s self-image. It’s about memory, belonging, and the gap between exile and home. The emotional feel is contemplative. It feels personal. The pacing is episodic and exploratory, rewarding viewers who like observation more than plot. It earns its place for capturing the psychology of return and for treating Iraq as lived space, not a headline. Best for viewers who want reflective documentary filmmaking with a personal lens.

2. Where Is Gilgamesh? (2024)

• Actors: Barzan Yunis, Goran Dlshad, Ragash Kizhan
• Director: Karzan Kardozi
• Genre: drama
• Tone: curious, philosophical
• Suitable for: teens and up
• IMDb rating: 8.9/10

A contemporary Kurdish story circles an ancient question: what do myths mean when the present is unstable. The premise uses conversation, search, and uncertainty more than conventional plot mechanics. It’s about identity, cultural inheritance, and the need for stories that outlast crisis. The emotional feel is thoughtful. It invites reflection. The pacing is calm and deliberate, letting ideas and atmosphere carry momentum rather than action beats. It belongs among the best for showing how modern Iraq can converse with deep history without nostalgia. Best for viewers who like contemplative cinema and open-ended meaning.

1. We Iraqis (2004)

• Actors: Abbas Fahdel, Iraqi civilians (various), Iraqi families (various)
• Director: Abbas Fahdel
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: intimate, immediate
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 9.0/10

This documentary stays close to ordinary Iraqis as they speak about daily life, fear, humor, and hope. The premise is direct: let people talk, and let the camera listen without pushing a storyline. It’s about voice, self-representation, and the dignity of being heard on your own terms. The emotional feel is piercing. It’s honest. The pacing is conversational, with power coming from the accumulation of small truths rather than dramatic turns. It earns the top spot for its clarity of purpose and for how it builds empathy through presence, not persuasion. Best for viewers who want to understand lived experience through people’s own words.

Conclusion: revisiting Iraqi movies

The easiest way to use this list is to treat it like a mood map: start with a warm, accessible drama, then try a sharper political piece, and save the longest documentaries for when you can give them time. If you want the broadest sense of Iraqi movies in one sitting, pair a grounded fiction feature with a documentary for texture and contrast. For cinephiles, it’s worth rewatching these films with an ear for sound and a eye for what’s left off-screen—silence is often the most honest line. For a wider context on preservation and film history, explore resources from the Library of Congress film collections to see how cinema is archived and studied.

There’s also value in reading critics who track how Middle Eastern cinema travels internationally and how national stories get interpreted abroad. When you’re ready to go deeper, the film section at The New York Times Movies can help you connect these titles to broader craft conversations and viewing trends. Come back to this list over time, and you’ll notice how different eras rhyme: a familiar street, a recurring moral dilemma, a new voice rewriting an old myth. Iraqi movies reward patience—and they repay it with lasting images.

FAQ about Iraqi cinema