Norway/Netherlands
THE LIONS BY THE RIVER TIGRIS
91 MIN
2025
In Mosul, a city devastated during the battle for liberation from the Islamic State, the fight to heal and preserve its identity, culture, and art is not over. Three men refuse to let Mosul remain in ruins. A city with 8,000 years of history, struggling to reclaim its soul through those who refuse to let it fade into oblivion.
Cast & Crew
Producer: Thorvald Nilsen
Director: Zaradasht Ahmed
Script: Zaradasht Ahmed
Director of Photography: Zaradasht Ahmed
Music: Daan Hofman
Sound: Luuk Hoogstraten, Zita Leemans
Editing: Eva Hillström
Cast: Bashar, Fadel, Fakhri
Production. Indie Film Bergen
Cast & Crew
Producer: Thorvald Nilsen
Director: Zaradasht Ahmed
Script: Zaradasht Ahmed
Director of Photography: Zaradasht Ahmed
Music: Daan Hofman
Sound: Luuk Hoogstraten, Zita Leemans
Editing: Eva Hillström
Cast: Bashar, Fadel, Fakhri
Production. Indie Film Bergen
Zaradasht Ahmed
Zaradasht Ahmed is an IDFA-winning Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker originally from Iraq, renowned for his compelling storytelling in conflict zones. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked extensively across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, capturing human resilience through documentary filmmaking. In addition to directing, he has trained local communities in documentation, empowering those living in some of the world’s most volatile regions to tell their own stories. Zaradasht Ahmed’s most acclaimed documentary, Nowhere to Hide (2016), has received over 20 prestigious international awards, including Best Feature Documentary at IDFA (2016), Best Documentary at the One World Human Rights Festival (2017), and two Emmy Award nominations (for Best Feature-length Documentary and Best Foreign-affair Documentary, 2019). Ahmed’s filmmaking career began with Persecuted (2008), followed by the award-winning The Road to Diyarbekir (2010), which was broadcast on SVT Sweden, TV2 Norway, ARTE Germany/France, YLE Finland, and VPRO Netherlands. His 2013 documentary Fata Morgana was broadcast on SVT Sweden, featured at TIFF Norway, Eurodok in Oslo, and screened at various festivals in and out of Norway. Zaradasht Ahmed studied Television and Multimedia Production at University of Stavanger, earning his BA in 2006. Prior to that, he attended the Rogaland School of Art in Stavanger from 1997 to 1999. His academic journey began at the Kirkuk Institute of Technology in Iraq, where he studied from 1988 to 1990.
Filmography
Persecuted(2008), The Road to Diyarbekir (2010), Fata Morgana (2012), Nowhere to Hide (2016), The Amazing Baghdad Battery, Who Stole It? (2021), The Big Brother - Bong Thom (2023), The Lions by the River Tigris (2025).
Zaradasht Ahmed is an IDFA-winning Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker originally from Iraq, renowned for his compelling storytelling in conflict zones. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked extensively across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, capturing human resilience through documentary filmmaking. In addition to directing, he has trained local communities in documentation, empowering those living in some of the world’s most volatile regions to tell their own stories. Zaradasht Ahmed’s most acclaimed documentary, Nowhere to Hide (2016), has received over 20 prestigious international awards, including Best Feature Documentary at IDFA (2016), Best Documentary at the One World Human Rights Festival (2017), and two Emmy Award nominations (for Best Feature-length Documentary and Best Foreign-affair Documentary, 2019). Ahmed’s filmmaking career began with Persecuted (2008), followed by the award-winning The Road to Diyarbekir (2010), which was broadcast on SVT Sweden, TV2 Norway, ARTE Germany/France, YLE Finland, and VPRO Netherlands. His 2013 documentary Fata Morgana was broadcast on SVT Sweden, featured at TIFF Norway, Eurodok in Oslo, and screened at various festivals in and out of Norway. Zaradasht Ahmed studied Television and Multimedia Production at University of Stavanger, earning his BA in 2006. Prior to that, he attended the Rogaland School of Art in Stavanger from 1997 to 1999. His academic journey began at the Kirkuk Institute of Technology in Iraq, where he studied from 1988 to 1990.
Filmography
Persecuted(2008), The Road to Diyarbekir (2010), Fata Morgana (2012), Nowhere to Hide (2016), The Amazing Baghdad Battery, Who Stole It? (2021), The Big Brother - Bong Thom (2023), The Lions by the River Tigris (2025).
PHOTOS/TRAILER