FEBRUARY 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Saving Grace
Assyrian-Australian director debuts short film
portraying Christian genocide in Mosul
BY CAL ABBO
Though terrorist threats and Christian hatred
spread through Mosul, Grace’s father would
not leave his home. The threat of ISIS hanging
over his head, his life continued on. He knew he had
to protect his daughter at all costs. Whatever happened
to him didn’t matter.
As days passed, the violence grew nearer. At the
sound of gunshots just outside, he told Grace they
would play hide and seek, a game they practiced time
and time again, while he defended her with his life.
This is the plot of “Grace,” an award-winning short
film made by Assyrian/Chaldean director Brian Patto,
who lives in Melbourne, Australia. The film was accepted
to dozens of International Film Festivals in major cities
across the world like Los Angeles, New York, Boston,
San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Moscow,
London, Paris, Hong Kong, Vienna, Berlin, Budapest,
Stockholm, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, and many more.
At the Prague Indie Film Festival, “Grace” took
over. It won four different categories, including best
foreign short, best male director, best actor debut,
and best actress debut. The film, which is ten minutes
long, also won many other awards and finalist
rankings throughout its tour. Most recently, it won
Best Script in Sao Paulo last month.
“Grace” was also nominated for an AACTA award,
Australia’s version of America’s Academy Awards, for
Best Short Form Drama, an apt nomination. The film
tells a compelling and forceful story, complete with
a murky, suspenseful set and excellent acting. Its
most important feature, however, is its authenticity:
“Grace” is shot entirely in Sureth.
Patto was born in Iraq, but his family escaped
from the homeland when he was two years old. He
remembers nothing of his native country. At the age
of four, they settled in Melbourne, where he has lived
ever since. Melbourne and Sydney, the two largest
cities in Australia, are home to around 40,000 Assyrians/Chaldeans.
Patto graduated with an honors degree in multimedia
from Swinburne University. He started as an
editor before he began directing. Since then, he’s
directed commercials for clients like Nissan, GMC,
Schweppes, and the Australian government.
The film’s journey, Patto said, began almost ten
years ago, before Mosul fell to ISIS. “In 2008, there
was some conflict between some families involving my
cousin from Mosul,” he said. “Al-Qaeda came busting
in one day. Long story short, he put his family in the
backroom, took out his gun and there was a firefight.”
During the battle, his cousin’s 5-year-old son was
killed. The rest of the family eventually escaped to
Australia. Patto approached his father about telling
the story, who told Patto he should avoid it out of respect.
“I asked myself, if I was in Mosul and I had
to protect my daughter, whose name is Grace, while
preserving her innocence, what would I do? I would
disguise it as a game of hide and seek.”
Patto’s film is a microscopic feature of one Mosul
household in the summer of 2014. The dramatic fatherdaughter
story is just a proof-of-concept, Patto said, for
a full-length feature film which explores the detailed
tragedy of the 2014 Christian purge at the hands of ISIS.
And proof it is. The short film’s sweeping success,
seemingly out of nowhere, launched Patto and his
crew into the spotlight. Now they’re working on a full
script which Patto expects to complete this year.
“We need to raise around $15-20 million,” he said,
stressing that they have to “do it right.” Patto already
spoke with several investors and has locked in over
$1 million. “The thing with film making is because
it’s so challenging, oftentimes it’s all talk,” he said.
“For me, this is personal. This film will get made.”
For Patto, the short film, and eventually the fulllength
film, contrasts heavily with mainstream coverage
of the ISIS takeover in Mosul. Cable news offers
30-second segments about the attacks that don’t do
it justice and are forgotten within the day. A feature
film, on the other hand, lasts forever. If done well,
it will explore the emotional magnitude of the Chaldean
exodus from Mosul.
“We need to get backing. If we don’t get backing,
it’s not that it won’t happen, but it will be very hard,”
“The thing with film making is,
because it’s so challenging,
oftentimes it’s all talk.
For me, this is personal.
This film will get made.”
– Brian Patto, Director
Patto said. “I’m talking to as many people as I can
around the world. Just connecting and trying to get
people interested. You never know who might know
someone and then you’re off.”
Patto’s projected budget puts his movie well within
the realm of feasibility. As a result, there’s a good
chance that a large company like Netflix or Amazon
will offer to fully fund the project in exchange for exclusive
ownership rights. One of Patto’s wishes, however,
is for the Assyrian/Chaldean community to own
some portion of the movie.
Just as well, he is dead-set on producing the full
movie in Sureth. “It’s not about being the first,” he
said, acknowledging that other movies have already
been made in the ancient language. “I want to see
something of high caliber in our native tongue. I want
to be up against the big players. Ladies and gentlemen
of the world: This is a language that derives from
Aramaic, and it is still spoken around the world.”
Patto’s career thus far has involved editing and directing
for commercial clients. Only now has he entered
into the private, creative space, where his own cultural
experience and hardship is king. “It’s not about the
money for me,” he said. “It’s about pride. This one here,
this one’s personal. I want the film to come out, and say
to the Assyrians and Chaldeans around the world: This
is my tribute to you.”
42 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2022