Two people meet in a room and talk for two hours. After that talk, war breaks out.
In July 1990, April Glaspie, the American ambassador in Iraq, sat down with Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. A few days later Iraq invaded Kuwait. The reaction was not long in coming: in the Spring of 1991, a coalition led by the US invaded Iraq. The first Gulf War was a fact.
What exactly was said between April Glaspie and Saddam Hussein?
Why did we never hear anything more about April after that?
What role did CNN play in our perception of the conflict?
Did that war disrupt relations with the Arab world for good?
Willem de Wolf tries in particular to investigate the female and Arab perspectives as opposed to the hyperbole of the white Western perception in his text. Guy Cassiers uses visual technology to reconstruct the traces of media manipulation in footage from 30 years ago. It is up to the spectators to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and draw their own conclusions.
What exactly was said between April Glaspie and Saddam Hussein?
Why did we never hear anything more about April after that?
What role did CNN play in our perception of the conflict?
Did that war disrupt relations with the Arab world for good?
Willem de Wolf tries in particular to investigate the female and Arab perspectives as opposed to the hyperbole of the white Western perception in his text. Guy Cassiers uses visual technology to reconstruct the traces of media manipulation in footage from 30 years ago. It is up to the spectators to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and draw their own conclusions.
Credits
director
- Guy Cassiers
text
- Willem de Wolf
with
- Katelijne Damen
- Eelco Smits
- Sabri Saad El Hamus
dramaturgy
- Erwin Jans
light design
- Fabiana Piccioli
musical design
- Kris Defoort
production
- Toneelhuis
coproduction
- de Koe
with the support of
- de Tax Shelter van de Belgische federale overheid
- Casa Kafka Pictures Tax Shelter empowered by Belfius
