Jussif's Faces

Jussif and Junis are brothers. As boys they were both in love with the girl with the green eyes, the blond pigtails and the blue T-shirt. Because she favoured Jussif, Junis treated her to a cake packed with nails. The girl died, but it was Jussif who went to jail. Ever since, the brothers' relationship has been a complicated game of roles and masks that turns deadly with the outbreak of war. When Junis disappears after the rebellion against Saddam Hussein, Jussif takes his name and his place at the side of Junis' wife. Much too late he learns that his brother was an executioner and is wanted by the police. Nobody wants to believe Jussif's story and his innocence. A dangerous struggle over names and identities begins that only one of the brothers can win.
Both disturbing and enlightening, Najem Wali shows the predicament of the Iraqis both during and after Saddam's downfall. In times of tyranny and war, victims and offenders are often indistinguishable, as reality turns to nightmare and lies become reality.