An Iraqi Belly Dancer

Juan Romero

Director(s): Juan David Romero

In Iraq a family is like a tribe," says Hakim, the subject of this documentary and an LGBT refugee who escaped Iraq in 2017 on a dinghy from Turkey onto Greece. At the time he was running away from his family, who was persecuting him and had previously assaulted him because of his sexual orientation.

It all started with a video of Hakim that was posted online of him performing belly dance at a private party. That's how his family found out about him being gay and at that point, "Anyone from this tribe had the okay to kill me. They could throw me, slaughter me, strangle me, and no one would have a problem with that."

Since he was a kid, Hakim dreamt of becoming a belly dancer. However, he faced many challenges. For one, a man performing this type of dance is taboo, and so is being gay--not simply in Iraq, but worldwide--which means everything about this art form and the community associated with it exists there only underground.

Hakim lived in a country where he was in danger for being who he was and wanting to pursue his dreams. So he left.

However, in Greece, the story hasn't changed much. Except now he gets assaulted not only for being gay, but also a refugee. The Europe he saw in his dreams was not the Europe he found when he finally made it to Athens.

The film was produced, shot and edited by Juan David Romero, a Colombian-American journalist and filmmaker presently based in Paris, France.

To learn more about the film visit www.juandavid.org

“An Iraqi Belly Dancer” played in 2018 at London’s East End Film Festival, the Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, the Phenicien International Film Festival in France, the 7th Diaspora Film Festival in South Korea, and the 10th Kashish Mumbai Queer International Film Festival in India.

Director's Statement:

The story of Hakim is one of sorrow, loss, and the struggle to restart from scratch and alone.

Hakim came into my life while I was volunteering in a refugee camp in the island of Chios in Greece in 2017. A Belgian friend of mine told me about him and I immediately became captivated by his story and his life.

It wasn't long after that that Hakim was performing a belly dancing show for us after agreeing to be filmed. Fast-forward to 2018 and I can't be more grateful for having had the opportunity to share Hakim's story--one that is current and so important in these trying times.

I sincerely hope his life and his struggles will inspire others not simply to help Hakim and others like him, but become more aware and appreciate the life they have been given.