Ajit Rai/Jeddah

Iraqi-Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker Halkawat Mustafa's documentary Hiding Saddam Hussein (2023), screened in the main competition section of the 3rd Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is about a simple farmer named Alaa who hid Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from the American army for 235 days.

By the time American forces captured the Iraqi presidential residence on March 20, 2003, Saddam Hussein had disappeared.

A day later, his brother brought a guest to Alaa Namiq's house in Ad Dawar village of Tirkit City of Saladir province. That guest was none other than Iraq's deposed President Saddam Hussein. Alaa Namiq arranged for their stay in his small farmhouse nine miles away from Tirkit town. He dug a trench and made a bunker in the garden of his house and closed it with big flower pots.

It was a coincidence that Saddam Hussein was also born in Al Awja village near Tirkit city. Later, on December 13, 2003, the American army found Saddam Hussein in the bunker and three years later, on December 30, 2006, he was publicly hanged.

Poster of the Film Hidding Saddam hussain

Alaa Namiq had to spend seven months in the Abu Ghraib prison but was acquitted without trial. On the other hand, after Saddam Hussein was hanged, the film's director Halkawat Mustafa, a Kurd, had to flee Iraq. Another 180,000 Kurdish people were deported, killed, or disappeared.

Halkawat Mustafa has made this rare film in ten years with the help of Alaa Namiq's account on the camera, archival footage of television, and drama. In the opening scene, Alaa Namiq dressed in traditional Arab attire is seen sitting cross-legged on a velvet carpet. He explains how and why he saved Saddam Hussein.

America had announced a reward of 25 million dollars for information about Saddam Hussein and 15 million dollars for information about his two sons Uday and Qusay. Alaa Namiq, the father of four children, says that for a poor farmer like him, the reward meant a lot and could shake many of him greedy.

Till then he did not know much about Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and exploits as he like others was fed information through the government radio and television. They called Saddam Hussein's master. When both his sons Uday and Kusay were killed by the American army in July, Saddam adopted the 32-year-old Alaa Namiq as his son.

Just a few days before this incident, his two sons, hiding from the American army, had come to meet Saddam Hussein at night. This proved to be their last meeting. 

Whenever the movement of American troops increased, Saddam Hussein hid himself in the bunker all day. The house was raided by the American army once or twice. The film plays with Alaa Namiq's voice-over commentary and matching video footage. Alaa Namiq could not even give time to his family for nine months.

Saddam Hussein facing trial

In the film, Alaa Namiq tells how he became Saddam Hussein's most important person as he worked as his barber, cook, orderly, and advisor. Saddam Hussein also used to hold underground meetings with his loyal officers to make strategies.

It was because of these officers that he was caught. Alaa Namiq has accepted everything truthfully in the film. US President George Bush had alleged that there were chemical weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussein's palace and British Prime Minister Tony Blair endorsed it on the floor of the Parliament. Those chemical weapons were never found.

The film shows how an anarchic dictator turns into an ordinary human when his life is in danger. For Alaa Namiq, Saddam Hussein was like a mythical character whom he could never have imagined meeting. It was destiny that made him spend nine months with them.

Halkawat Mustafa spoke about the making of his film at the Red Sea International Film Festival. He said that it took 12 years to bring the truthful story of how a farmer kept Saddam Hussein safe for 235 days while about 1.5 lakh American soldiers were frantically searching for him. His search for Alaa Namiq began in 2011.

A year later, he read an article about him in The Washington Post. After two years and with the help of an Iraqi Sheikh, he was able to find him and convinced him to do the film. It coincided with the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq making Mustafa's work became easier.

Iraqi-Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker Halkawat Mustafa

Alaa Namiq also came to the Red Sea International Film Festival. He said that initially, I thought that I should remain silent and I did so for 20 years because I was worried about the safety of my family. When various types of news started appearing in the press and social media, I decided that I should now tell the true story through film. I asked the Sheikh to finalise the deal with Mustafa.

Alaa Namiq said that when American forces arrested him along with Saddam Hussein, he had to stay in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, located west of Baghdad, for seven months. This prison is notorious for the humiliation and inhuman torture of prisoners by the US military and the CIA. He and his family had to pay a heavy price for hiding Saddam Hussein. His father died due to grief.

ALSO READ: Film on ISIS sex slaves shocks world at Cairo Film fest

The film's director Halkawat Mustafa said that his focus while making the film was not the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein on the Kurdish people, especially the 1988 Halabja attack when thousands of Kurds were killed with chemical weapons. He said that he aimed to make a film not on Saddam Hussein but on the man who kept him hidden for 235 days. He said that he was collecting information on this subject as an investigative journalist, but verification of the information was his major challenge.

The author is a well-known film critic