Fried Eggs

In 2003, Eddie Moretti, the head of VICE Films, and Suroosh Alvi, VICE co-founder, tracked down and documented the lives of the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda (pronounced a-cross-i-cow-dah, meaning "deadly black scorpion").

Happening almost by accident, the story of Heavy Metal in Baghdad was originally printed in an issue of VICE as a short article. After years of venturing back to Baghdad and having many personal conversations with the four band members: Marwan, Tony, Faisal, and Firas; their story was made into an intimate portrayal of the band's desire to simply stay alive and headbang to their music in peace.

Moretti and Alvi's main goal was to capture the day-to-day lives of innocent Iraqis who were forced to leave their home and become part of the largest refugee crisis in history. Moretti filmed Alvi sitting with members of the band in open, public settings like their hotel lobby in order to gain their trust - initially, the band was apprehensive of the filmmakers intentions. As the film progresses, we see the band and the two filmmakers form a close relationship. Near the end, there is an emotional moment inside the band's new home in Syria, as they watch footage of themselves from their experiences of the previous years.

Scenes of everyday Baghdad were also caught on tape. From their hotel room's balcony, Moretti filmed bombs blasting in the distance. Both he and Alvi voiced their anxiety countless times, knowing they could be shot down and killed at any moment, despite being armed and wearing bullet-proof vests. Walking outside was near impossible; their drivers often cautioning them to get off the streets and back to their hotel. Stopped by undercover police officials, Moretti's camera was put under scrutiny. Fortunately, he managed to keep the footage that became Heavy Metal in Baghdad.

The unique aspect of the documentary, which also included some clips of the band's live shows, is that while it is directly about a band, the power of music, and how it can connect people, it is also indirectly an in-depth, street-level look at the disastrous aftermath of the Iraq War. Ironically, while music is meant to connect, the members have endured nothing but hardship, having to leave their families in Baghdad and starting over in Syria where they work illegally for ridiculously low pay.

Screened during the Toronto Film Festival, there was a Q&A session after the film, where Moretti informed the audience of their failed efforts to bring the band into the country - the band was flat-out rejected by the Canadian Embassy. He also offered an adapted message from the band's Blog, originally written in slightly-improper English - they learned the language by watching American films and listening to American music, and as a result, use the f-word in every other sentence and refer to most people as "dude."

"So the last thing that hits our mind is to seek your help to get us out of here where we going to be able to live the dream of our life and being out there on stage with you wherever you are. Let the metal unite us let the metal rule. Yours, AcrassicaudA," Moretti read to the audience.

Moretti and Alvi ended the night with hopeful thoughts, encouraging everyone to vote for the film in the hopes of receiving enough press to give the band's story extra attention to get them out of Iraq. More information about the film and where you can donate money are available at www.heavymetalinbaghdad. com.

Published by The Medium