Koutaiba Al Janabi

Koutaiba was born in Baghdad. In Budapest, Hungary he studied photojournalism. His diploma project was about Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. He attended the Budapest Academy of Drama and Cinema, qualifying as a cinematographer. He studied under Lajos Koltai, Oscar-nominated cinematographer defining the “Hungarian style” of lighting and composition. He worked in the Hungarian film and television industry and completed a PhD on the aesthetics and history of Arab cinema at ELTE University before relocating to London. Koutaiba worked as a cinematographer on various films, produced and directed programmes for MBC and produced/directed short films and documentaries. He moved into screenwriting and directing feature films. His first feature film was Leaving Bagdhad. Independently produced, the film was well received and won awards and was shown at festivals and screenings. Raindance, the British Film Institute, the Gulf Film Festival, festivals in Ghent, Monaco, Sweden, Thailand, Fiji, Spain, Germany and Iran selected Leaving Baghdad for their programmes.

The main themes in Al-Janabi's work are displacement, alienation and exile.

Al-Janabi's early films were published as a DVD under the title Stories of Passers Through. His photographic work is widely published and exhibited (Foto Magazin Hungary, British Journal of Photography, Black and White magazine). He produced two collections of his photographic work in his books Far from Baghdad and Foreign Light.

BIFA winner, Cinema for Peace nominee, Gulf Film Festival prize winner, Monaco Film Festival prize winner etc.{{Cite web|url=http://celinejulie.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_01_archive.html|title=Limitless Cinema|website=celinejulie.blogspot.co.uk}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.bifa.org.uk/winners/2011 |title=Winners 2011 : BIFA |access-date=2013-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313204022/http://www.bifa.org.uk/winners/2011 |archive-date=2013-03-13 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/archives/2004_06.html|title=LabourStart / English: Oops!|website=www.iraqitradeunions.org}}

• Leaving Baghdad Feature film (2010) Director/Writer - BIFA winner, Cinema for Peace nominee, Gulf Film Festival prize winner, Monaco Film Festival prize winner etc.{{cite web|title=Koutaba Al-Janabi |publisher=Koutaiba Al-Janabi official website |url=http://www.koutaibaaljanabi.com/cv.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218175037/http://www.koutaibaaljanabi.com/cv.html |archivedate=December 18, 2005 |url-status=unfit }}
• Wasteland: Between London and Baghdad (1998){{cite journal |title=Berlin: "Contemporary Arab Representations" |first=Astrid|last=Mania |journal=Art and Asia Pacific|year=2006|volume= 49 |page=88

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7o0AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Koutaiba+Al+Janabi%22 }}

• An English Sheikh and a Yemeni Gentleman Yemen (2000)
• Jiyan (2002) Cinematographer.
• Still Life (short)
• The Train (short)
• The Ever Restless man (portrait)
• Against the Light (portrait)
• No Man's Land (short)
• Baghdadi Correspondent (documentary)
• Seven Days with Gypsies
• Jiyan{{Cite web|url=http://jbspins.blogspot.co.uk/2009_10_01_archive.html|title=J.B. Spins: October 2009|website=jbspins.blogspot.co.uk|language=en}}
• Emotional Backgammon
• Winter of Love

• Raindance Award at the 14th British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs){{cite web |url=http://www.holymoly.com/film-dvd/pictures/british-independent-film-awards-2011-fassbender-ramsey-sophie-peep-show-win60714 |title=British Independent Film Awards 2011: Fassbender, Ramsey & Sophie from Peep Show win | Film & DVD Pictures | Holy Moly! |accessdate=2012-11-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103231328/http://www.holymoly.com/film-dvd/pictures/british-independent-film-awards-2011-fassbender-ramsey-sophie-peep-show-win60714 |archivedate=2014-01-03 }}
• Best Cinematography Award of the XVII Hungarian Festival of Commercials
• Best Cinematography Award of the Independent Arabic Film Festival in 1999
• First Prize at the Gulf Film Festival{{Cite web|url=http://gulffilmfest.com/index.php/en/past-edition/year-2011/films/#pg-1_g-none_l-none_co-none_ci-none_se-none_sec-none|title=Dubai International Film Festival|website=Dubai International Film Festival}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/documentary/blogs/view/id/123376/t/Gulf-Film-Festival-Report-3|title=SBS - Special Broadcasting Service|website=www.sbs.com.au}}
• Special Prize at the Monaco Charity Film Festival{{Cite web |url=http://www.monacofilmfestival.de/95-0-WORLD-CINEMA--FEATURE-MOVIES.html |title=World Cinema Feature Movies - Monaco Charity Film Festival |access-date=2013-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625093431/http://www.monacofilmfestival.de/95-0-WORLD-CINEMA--FEATURE-MOVIES.html |archive-date=2012-06-25 |url-status=dead }}

• Iraqi art
• List of Iraqi artists

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.koutaibaaljanabi.com/ Official Site]
• [http://www.leavingbaghdadfilm.com/index.html Leaving Baghdad]
• [http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/InterviewKoutaibal.html Koutaiba: Jiyan's Cinematographer]. Jaap Mees. (2003)
• [http://www.takeonecff.com/2013/leaving-baghdad Review of Leaving Baghdad at takeonecff.com]
• Koutaba Al-Janabi. official website. Accessed on 2005-12-18.
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.wdw.nl/en/our_program/exhibitions/contemporary_arab_representations_beirut_lebanon |title=Contemporary Arab Representations, Beirut/Lebanon - Exhibitions - Program - Witte de With|website=www.wdw.nl|language=en|access-date=2018-05-23}}

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Category:Artists from Baghdad

Category:British people of Iraqi descent

Category:British male artists

Category:Iraqi film directors

Category:Iraqi photographers

Category:Iraqi contemporary artists

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)