In 2003, Mohamed Al-Daradji was a young filmmaker on the rise in the UK. The ambitious student had earned two Masters degrees in Cinematography and Directing from England's Northern Film School, produced eight short films and commercials as cinematographer/director, and received the prestigious National Kodak Student Award. Then, in the spring of that year, he watched on television as America invaded his home country of Iraq. Haunted by the images he saw of Baghdad, the city he had grown up in, Mohamed packed his bags and returned home to make his first feature film, "Ahlaam."

Mohamed Al-Daradji

Mohamed's new documentary, "War, Love, God & Madness," documents his incredible journey to make that first film in Iraq, recounting horrifying tales of torture, kidnappings, shootings and death threats from both suspicious American soldiers and enraged Iraqi insurgents. More than just a cautionary tale on the horrors of war, "War, Love, God & Madness" is about the powerful urge to create art, the persistent hope for a better life that gives humans the courage to overcome tremendous obstacles, and the possibility to inspire change during times of overwhelming darkness.

We caught up with Mohamed to discuss his new film, and what he hopes audiences at the Traverse City Film Festival will take away from it.

Traverse City Film Festival: "War, Love, God & Madness" highlights the harrowing obstacles you and your crew faced while making your first feature film, "Ahlaam," during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. Can you start by giving us some background on "Ahlaam?" What inspired you to leave England and return home to Baghdad to make this film, particularly during wartime?

Mohamed Al-Daradji: Watching what happens to your country through a small TV image on the 6 o'clock news, knowing your family and friends are in the middle of bombings and attacks from the invasion, knowing you are not with them and you are helpless to protect them…it's hard. Two months after the fall of the Saddam regime, I returned to Iraq, where I saw the disaster that was left of Baghdad and the Iraqi people.

One of the news footage clips I saw when I was in the UK was an image of a young girl who was found on the streets wearing a wedding dress and speaking a nonsense language. I wrote the story of "Ahlaam" when I was in Baghdad in 2003, where I went with my friend Muntather to volunteer at the Baghdad Mental Institute. The characters and story are based on the people I met there, and their experiences before and during the invasion.

TCFF: At one point in "War," you are beaten by insurgents who accuse you of making a propagandist film for America, then later interrogated by Americans who accuse you of making a propagandist film for Al-Qaeda. This seems almost grimly humorous, but it also strikes me as being symbolic of how many Iraqi civilians are caught between the two groups. Do you feel like your film in some way mirrors the plight of other bystanders in Iraq, or the conditions the average Iraqi citizen is living with right now?

MA: The situation in Iraq is difficult for the Iraqi people. When we shot "Ahlaam," we didn't experience anything that the Iraqi people don't experience as a part of everyday life. But, because we had equipment, and in some scenes a lot of people, we could also easily become a target.

Filming "Ahlaam" on the streets of Baghdad

TCFF: I've read in several interviews that you've said making "War" was a cathartic experience for you. Aside from trying to mentally and emotionally process what you and your crew went through, was there something in particular that motivated you to share your story with a wider audience?

MA: Films are a platform for us to ask ourselves questions. Ever since I finished filming "Ahlaam," I kept asking myself, "Why has this happened to the Iraqi people, and who is responsible?"

TCFF: "War" is playing at the film festival in a series we've entitled (ironically), "Movies From People Who Want to Kill Us." Is there anything you wish Americans knew about Iraq or the Iraqi people?

MA: I hope everyone who sees this documentary will see the real Iraqi people, from a different point of view - from one human being to another, and in a different light than what the West is shown on the news.

Iraqi children playing in Baghdad

"'War, Love, God & Madness" is playing Saturday, August 2 at 12 noon at Milliken Auditorium and 6 p.m. at the Old Town Playhouse. Producer Danny Evans will be on hand to introduce the film, and will participate in Thursday morning's discussion panel at the City Opera House entitled," Who Are These Terrorists, and Why Do They Make Movies?" For more information on the film, and to purchase tickets online, click here.