Artifact War was an Official Selection of the Austin Film Festival. Directed by Evan Michael Carpenter and Jacob Schwarz, the documentary features Amr Al Azm, Adnan Almohamad and Katie Paul. This significant film documents the threat to cultural heritage posed by looting during wartime, with a particular focus on Syria.
The documentary tastefully recreates pivotal moments from the lives of its three main subjects, complemented by news footage and direct interviews with Azm, Adnan, and Katie. Through their accounts, we gain insight into how these archaeologists worked to protect and preserve cultural artifacts.
Directors Carpenter and Schwarz have crafted a beautiful documentary with a deeply compelling story. I was particularly impressed by the score, editing, and cinematography. The film captivates with its powerful storytelling, highlighting the filmmakers’ dedication to preserving cultural heritage in an engaging and visually striking way.
The documentary takes us back to 2003, with the invasion of Iraq and the looting of the Baghdad Museum. In 2012 the regime’s actions in Syria were becoming more aggressive. This mobilized an emerging network of archeologists, activists and museum curators to form inside Syria. Their interest was to make a record of the artifacts for future generations or at least show what happens to cultural heritage in times of war.
In the summer of 2014 the Smithsonian Museum funded a workshop to teach how to preserve antiquities in times of conflict. It was from hearing about this workshop that Dr. Azm came to know Adnan, who wanted to help with the problem of the looting of artifacts. Soon into the storytelling we meet Katie Paul who shares her inspiration for wanting to become an archeologist and soon works to thwart the trafficking of antiquities.
I must highlight the incredible score in this documentary, composed by Bytheway-May. It’s fantastic—so much so that I hope the team takes it as a compliment when I compare it to Daniel Pemberton’s outstanding work on Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The film also features snappy, dynamic editing that makes it a joy to watch and learn from these talented filmmakers.
Artifact War is a triumph in documentary filmmaking. This is the second documentary that I watched this fall that completely blew me away. Artifact War was next-level filmmaking is a must-watch!
Melody Lopez, Producer, Filmmaker Mixer Podcast (posted by Madelyn, Filmmaker Mixer Correspondent)
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