Instagram story viewer> @3ara8i> Posts

Ahmed | أحمد

@3ara8i

5.1K

followers

1168

following

Keep documenting everything you feel.
Videographer : @sagerlabs
Founder : @plus_964
🇸🇩

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

*MESOPOTAMIA* / Baghdad, Iraq, in 2026

This week, we’re spotlighting the work of @3ara8i (Ahmed Abdelkarim)

Ahmed is a Sudanese documentary filmmaker who has lived in Baghdad since childhood, with a focus on humanitarian issues, wars, and conflict across the Arab world. This series comes from his ongoing documentation of the city; not the headlines version of Baghdad, but the one he’s lived inside his whole life.

Founded in 762 by the Caliph Al-Mansur, Baghdad was built as a perfect circle and officially named Madinat al-Salam, the City of Peace. Within its walls stood the House of Wisdom, the intellectual engine of the Islamic Golden Age, drawing scholars from across the known world until the Mongol invasion of 1258 brought it down. What’s rarely said is that Baghdad never stopped producing characters and stories, only that the rest of the world stopped looking.

Ahmed put it simply: behind every face in this city is a story, some inspiring, some heartbreaking, some almost unbelievable. by @3ara8i

260

17

a month ago

Ahmed and his father r doing the same thing
📷:@abdullah__rafid by @3ara8i

348

45

2 months ago

As the journey of The Challenge comes to a close, I look back on one of my first steps into documentary filmmaking.
A film that started as an experiment and went on to win 3 awards and screen at 14 international film festivals.
Thank you to the film’s director
@a8c2 by @3ara8i

3

11

4 months ago

Frames from the latest project I worked on as a director.
Working with: @tribeofmonsters

Director: @3ara8i
Dop: @1hussein.raad
Production Manager: @asaxxdsd
Creative Director: @shwan_salar
Executive Producer: @alrisafi
Artists: @gg.pronto @armandoofficiall

Special Thanks: @plus_964 by @3ara8i

1k

50

5 months ago

Wandering through the narrow streets of Balat, I had no destination in mind when a deeply spiritual melody slipped into my ears, like an invisible thread gently pulling me somewhere unknown. I found myself searching through shops and quiet streets, following the echo like a quiet instinct, until a small door caught my attention leading down to a basement beneath the city.

The moment I stepped down the stairs, it felt as though I had crossed into another world. Sufi music flowed softly through the space, dim light wrapped the room in calm, and a stillness settled before words could. Inside, an artist was immersed in a pure moment of creation, sculpting Sufi figures with a focus that felt almost meditative, as if her hands were speaking to the soul before the stone.

It was a moment of discovery where art meets silence, and where small doors quietly open into vast unseen worlds. taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @3ara8i

3

11

7 months ago

‘The Message of the Old Art’ via @3ara8i

“Art that never grows old, stories of men who found themselves in the streets of Iraq. This story follows artists who have long passed their youth but never forget their true passion. In the cafés, markets, and riverbanks of Iraq, they continue to paint, play music, and write, not for fame or fortune, but for identity, belonging, and inner peace. Their art is a quiet act of resistance, a lifelong friend, and a reminder that beauty can be created even when the world isn’t watching. This piece honors a generation that refused to let time dim their flame, showing that while art may not offer glory, it offers something far greater.”

Concept & Video: @3ara8i
Behind the Scenes: @_t2tl
Designs & Written Article: @mhh5t taken in Iraq , Baghdad by @3ara8i

2k

43

9 months ago

‘The Message of the Old Art’ via @3ara8i

“Art that never grows old, stories of men who found themselves in the streets of Iraq. This story follows artists who have long passed their youth but never forget their true passion. In the cafés, markets, and riverbanks of Iraq, they continue to paint, play music, and write, not for fame or fortune, but for identity, belonging, and inner peace. Their art is a quiet act of resistance, a lifelong friend, and a reminder that beauty can be created even when the world isn’t watching. This piece honors a generation that refused to let time dim their flame, showing that while art may not offer glory, it offers something far greater.”

Concept & Video: @3ara8i
Behind the Scenes: @_t2tl
Designs & Written Article: @mhh5t taken in Iraq , Baghdad by @3ara8i

2k

25

9 months ago

Today marks Iraq’s Victory Day over ISIS a day when the memory of freedom rises again after years of pain and darkness.

I recently filmed a video in Old Mosul, a place that witnessed some of the most horrific acts of killing and execution committed by ISIS. In its narrow alleys and shattered walls, the traces of tragedy are still present in every detail.

When I visited this area, I found the houses destroyed and broken, as if the impact had happened only hours ago, not years ago. Scattered books, hanging clothes, and personal belongings remained exactly where their owners left them in their final moments frozen in time at the first instant of fear.

This video is a small attempt to document the memory of Mosul… a city that paid a heavy price, yet still stands with determination, carrying in its ruins a story of victory and the voice of a city that refuses to die.

Concept & Filming : ‪‪‪‪‪‪@3ara8i‬‬‬‬‬‬
Sound‪@usfoxx‬xx‬xx
Desi‪@mhh5t‬hh5t‬hh5t⁩⁩ by @3ara8i

1k

127

10 months ago

“Some frames from the Ramadan video
it was a fun project with a wonderful team.
@sagerlabs

The great lighting technician :
@abdullah__rafid

And the creative team :
@hecateben
@mhh5t
@tabarakabdulaali by @3ara8i

179

18

a year ago

Shooting and editing : @3ara8i
Graphic designer : @kf__o
Colouring pic : @ali3bdul_muttalib
Model and art director : @meraam_ali
Assistant : @44r4h by @3ara8i

226

27

2 years ago

⁨
My trip to one of the popular markets in Basra was initially for exploration only, but what I saw there was too profound for me to just observe. In every corner, there was a social issue, and on every face, a deep story. One modest stall caught my attention due to the number of people gathered around it. It was simply a stall selling gemstones.

We had an enjoyable conversation with the stall owner, known as “Abu Ali Al-Faisal.” He explained to us all aspects surrounding the world of gemstones and addressed most of the questions that have long been subjects of debate. He spoke about the historical and Islamic significance of gemstones, their spiritual powers, the controversies surrounding them,and the ignorance of the majority of gemstone enthusiasts, which may be due to deception and exploitation, who seek them for their supposed powers of wealth, love, and other claims that have no basis in reality.

This entire issue was narrated in just a few minutes, through the words of both its⁩ by @3ara8i

336

90

2 years ago

For: @shift.c0m
Director : @ali3bdul_muttalib
DOP : @ali3bdul_muttalib
Cameraman: @3ara8i
@aliflouk
Editing : @kf__o
@ali3bdul_muttalib
VFX : @kf__o
Product : @hayder_al_shapani by @3ara8i

117

7

2 years ago