Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a feature film documentary that follows the
Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in
2003 to the present day. Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has
always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after
Saddam’s regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band
in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as
their country fell into a bloody insurgency. From 2003-2006, Iraq
disintegrated around them while Acrassicauda struggled to stay
together and stay alive, always refusing to let their heavy metal
dreams die. Their story echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire
generation of young Iraqis.