27 years after it was shown for the first time, the series “The World of El-Sitt Wahiba”, which was banned by the former Iraqi regime, returns to the screen in exciting events, centered on crime and drugs, after it dealt with stories of chaos and poverty under international sanctions.
In its second part, which was also written by the Iraqi writer residing in the Netherlands, Sabah Atwan, characters from this police series return to complete the story that began in 1998, with a new generation. The director of the work, Samer, says: “The series deals with issues currently taking place in society, which are reflections of the results of wars.” Wars cast a shadow over the lives of Iraqis for decades, with harsh repercussions such as widespread poverty.
In recent years, Iraqi drama has returned to breathe in works that especially deal with stages of violence. In the last two years, the Iraqi television industry has witnessed an abundance of production and a shift in content, in a country recovering from conflicts.
Art critic Mahdi Abbas explains that this year’s series “are distinguished by their subject matter, as most of them focus on social topics and serious problems facing society,” such as drug abuse, unemployment, divorce, and money laundering.
“Drugs”
The director of the second part of “The World of El-Sitt Wahiba” believes that wars and conflicts “produced an affected class, and another class that benefited from the chaos.” He talks about “the spread of the trade in drugs, hashish, and crystal… and the exploitation of young people to become victims walking down a dark path.”
The first part of the series, which was shown in 1997, was widely popular among Iraqis, as it touched on the economic suffering under international sanctions and the social crises resulting from poverty. The events focus on Wahiba, a nurse who helps her neighbors.
The series was banned after only 17 minutes of showing it, because Saddam Hussein’s regime at the time feared that it would arouse the anger of people living in poverty. However, the series was shown a year later after winning an award at the Cairo Film Festival in the afternoon to limit views.
In the second part, Wahiba’s granddaughter, who was named after her grandmother, inherits the mission of helping people.
The young woman works as a psychiatrist, and lives with her grandmother, whose role is played by actress Fawzia Arif.
Actor Zuhair Muhammad Rashid, who plays the role of Alaa, a member of the drug trafficking network, said while filming a clip from the film in an old garage in the Sheikh Omar area in Baghdad: “Everything in this work is very close to the Iraqi social reality. Quick wealth is one of its sources.” Drugs, and the consequences and tragic endings surrounding them.”
He adds: “We are trying to remember and warn against it. This is the message of the work.” Scenes from the first part were filmed in the same place.
“Real stories”
During the month of Ramadan, Arabic screens are full of series and programs that families gather to watch after breakfast.
Despite the leap that Iraqi drama has witnessed in the last two years, production is still limited to the local framework, and unable to compete with Syrian and Egyptian drama and joint Arab works that dominate Arab screens, especially during the Ramadan season.
The writer of the series “The World of El-Sitt Wahiba” attributes this to the lack of Iraqi drama so far in “great content and professional workmanship in terms of writing.”
There are other social series shown on the Iraqi screen this year, including the series “Separation,” which talks about issues of divorce and the marriage of underage girls.
Its writer, Nahar Hasballah Yahya, says, “The series was based on realistic stories whose chapters were followed in many courts.” “We tried to break the caveats and raise these issues in a bold way.”
On the other hand, the series “Nay” by director Malak Ali addresses the issues of university youth in colleges and technical institutes, their ambitions and their future.
Actress Suzan Al-Salhi, who plays the lead role in it, says that the series looks at “the reality of students in arts colleges and their ambition to obtain the opportunity.”
Argument
“The World of El-Sitt Wahiba” raises some controversy on social media, against the backdrop of the return of one of the characters who supposedly died in the first part. The writer expressed his objection to the amendments that he said occurred in the text of the second part of his series after it was shown.
