'N' Like the Nazarenes

Maciej Grabysa, Witold Gadowski, Michał Król 'N' like the Nazarenes Tag Line : The letter 'N' – the Jihadists from the Islamic State spray-painted on the doors of Christian houses in Iraq in order to recognise them easier and then implement acts of repression and ethnic cleansing. In our next film from series 'Persecuted and forgotten' we would like to reveal the dramatic fate of the Iraqi Christians, who, in recent years, were pressurised by the Islamic fundamentalists, that led to the practical annihilation of this religious minority in Iraq. Runtime: 25-45 min Photography: Plan maximum: Sweden, Gemany/France, Turkey, Iraq – (ERBIL – Kurdystan, Bagdad), Lebanon, Poland Plan minimum: Sweden, Erbil – Kurdystan. Lebanon, Poland Social Media used by ISIL will be very important part of this movie – their propaganda materials that they upload on YouTube... SYNOPSIS The Christians of Iraq constituted the significant part of the Iraqi society for centuries; until 2003 there were over 1 300 000 of them; currently, their number has decreased to 300 000; it denotes that nearly one million of the Christians of Iraq escaped mainly to the adjacent countries, such as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Their problems began in 2003, when ‘’the ally of the Eastern World and USA’’, as the christians were called by fundamentalists, became their scapegoat, and as a result, the radical Muslims revenged on them for the American occuption of Iraq. From this time battle agaist christianity in Middle East intensified - the regular terrorist attacks on the Iraqi churches, kidnapping and intimidation against the Christians of Iraq - it became an everyday life. The most horrifying terrorist attack took place in 2010 in 'Our Lady is Our Salvation' church in Baghdad, where many Christians were kiled during the celebration of the Holy Mass. The people who were mostly responsible for that attacks were the radical Muslims from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Their actions reached an apogee during the last 2 years when they joined the civil war in adjoining Syria, and established self-proclaimed caliphate 'The Islamic State' that implemented acts of repression against the religious minorities - Yazidis and Christians. Mass murders, decapitations and crucifixions became the norm. The majority of the Christians living in Mosul and Karakosh were banished to Erbil, that is controlled by Kurds and Turkey. The extermination of the Christian world in Iraq has come true. In our film we wish to present the dramatic fate of the Christians in Iraq, the story of which is going to be narrated by Swedish journalist of an Assyrian origin - Nuri Kino - well-known Swedish journalists, he is involved in the issue of Middle East and the situation of Christians in Iraq. Nuri Kino is going to narrate the history and current situations of the Christians in Iraq, as well as present the secret of the Islamic State, the topic of which Nuri Kino is also absorbed by. In his home town - Stockholm, we are going to meet with the Iraqi Diaspora, the runaways from Mosul, and Muslims as well, who sacrifise their lives in favour of Jihad and support the terror of the Islamic State actively. In Istanbul we are going to talk with commanders related to the Free Syrian Army, who are going to present their point of view on the subject of the Islamic State’s activity and the Christians’ fate. Also we wil try to talk with runaways from Free Syrian Army – Nuri Kino has contacts with some of them. On the Iraqi-Turkish and the Iraqi-Syrian borderline, we are going to try to reach the Christian refugees in order to reveal their present situation and recollect the horror that they have experienced. As far as possible, we are going to try to reach Baghdad, it could be an opportunity for meeting the remains of the Christian Diaspora, and to the Bishops of Iraq. Our next destination in Iraq will be Erbil, which is under controll of Kurds these days, and where most Christians from Mosul and Karakosh wound thei shelter. Important part of the film will be the interviews with Peshmerga, the Kurdish military forces, that defends the Christians and fights against the extremists from the Islamic State. Erbil it's a place where most of the iraqui christians fleed. Through this movie we would like to show also the beauty of Eastern Church. We will meet christians from Asyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. Mor Gabriel Monastery – near Mydiat, Turkey is one of the most important places for Eastern Christians – there we would like to record prayers, and to go into the spirit and mistery of Eastern Church. Realisation plan: 1. Stockholm– 5 to 7 days 2. Erbil – Kurdystan – 10 days 3. Turkish - Syrian border and Turkish – Iraqi border 10 days (Diyarbakir, Midyat and Mardin; refugee camps for dla Yazidis); 2 syrian monasteries near Midyat; 4.Stambul 2-3 days 5. Bagdad 3-4 days? 6. Lebanon – we have already pictures and interviews with refugees from Iraq i Syria. We have been there in 2013. 7. Germany/France – we would like to show recent activity of Islamic fundamentaists. 8. Poland – We will include to the story one of jurnalist from Poland that was kidnapped by ISIL, now he is released – it will be good to talk to him..

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