Project Detail

Hands of God

Synopsis

Thirteen years of war. Dozens of car bombings every month. One goal: to become an Olympic champion.
The true story of grit and determination, of young men literally fighting for their lives one day on the battlefields of Iraq and competing to fight for their Nation the next. Despite living under the persistent threat of ISIS, these athletes will strive to accomplish their task.
This film documents the amazing journey of the Iraq National Team from obscurity and desperation to the edge of an historical qualification to Rio 2016.
Will private Waheed be able to manage his army duty with his desire to go to the Games? Is young Jafaar ready to aspire to the Olympic stage he has been dreaming of, despite living in the most dangerous suburb in the world? Will promising heavyweight Saadi come back from his mission to liberate Falluja? Will Iraq finally be a peaceful country?

Details

Year
2017
Type of project
Features
Running time
79 mins
Director
Riccardo Romani
Producer
Art Horan, Riccardo Romani
Co-Producer
Gabriela Rodriguez
Executive Producer
Alfonso Cuarón
Editor
Adam Gough
Director of Photography
Nicola Cavalazzi

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Robusto Films

c/o Big Talk & Esperanto Filmoj
41-42 Foley Steet, 4th Floor
London
W1W 7TS

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Galicia! Galicia!

Director: Anna Maguire, Kyle Greenberg

Year: 2026

What if you went on a holiday and the apocalypse happened? GALICIA! is a found-footage, hybrid-documentary following a couple through home video footage as they visit their friends at a winery in rural Spain and inadvertently capture the end of days. We live in a time where the sense of our impending mutually assured destruction is more real than it’s ever been. GALICIA! Takes the form of a holiday video - a document of a couple before - and after the great cataclysm. The film starts as something that feels unedited - an accidental video diary of an ordinary couple that feels somewhat ghostly as much as it is also pedestrian. As the film evolves and degrades, we are led to question the fragility of humanity, as well as its power to endure.

Lady Lifers Lady Lifers

Director: Jake J Smith

Year: 2026

For the first time in 30 years, a film crew gains rare access to Pennsylvania’s maximum-security women’s prisons. Inside, The Lady Lifers – a band led by former soul singer Naomi Blount – turn grief into music and defiance. Though Naomi never took a life, she is serving life without parole. To have any hope of freedom, she must express guilt she does not feel – a cruel paradox of the justice system. As her music echoes beyond the prison walls and reaches the public, lawmakers and activists, the question remains: Will her voice be enough to finally set her free - and to free those she left behind? Official Selection Durban International Film Festival 2026

Holyhead Santa: A True Story Holyhead Santa: A True Story

Director: Pamela Ryder

Year: 2026

A kind hearted, working class volunteer dons the Santa suit each year, quietly transforming his community through simple acts of generosity, testing whether his belief in giving can inspire others to carry the magic forward.