The Tigris, ancient Mesopotamia’s lifeline, flows through Baghdad. In March 2003, U.S. airstrikes pounded the city. Journalist Watai Takeharu saw Saddam's statue fall. The next day, in a hospital, he met 31-year-old Ali Saqban. His home was destroyed; in his arms lay his 5-year-old daughter Shahad, her body covered in blood.

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Full Interview:

How and Why did you become a documentary maker? 
Since I was in elementary school, I've loved watching documentary programs on television. At university, I majored in broadcasting in the Faculty of Arts, and after graduation, I started doing interviews and filming using a small video camera. Initially, I was involved in planning and reporting for television news programs. Since then, I've been involved in documentary production across various media.

What makes a good documentary? 
I am strongly drawn to documentaries that depict the "complexity,"  "incomprehensibility,"  "mystery,"  "chance," and "inevitability" of human emotions, history, and relationships through vivid images and authentic voices.

Why did you make "Peace on The Tigris" and what were the key challenges to make the film? 
I believe that the real image of war is civilian people's faces, their expression and their words. More than 100 thousand people have been killed in the Iraq War. I want to record the Iraq War through this film's main character Mr. Ali Saqban family's life and death.

What's next for you? What projects are you currently working on? 
Since 2022, I have covered the war in Ukraine and the situation in Palestine. I have presented my findings on Japanese television news programs and other media. Separately, I am currently working on a documentary film about "political power and the media" in Japan, co-directing it.