episode
LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD is the story of a true original-Gertrude Bell-sometimes called the female 'Lawrence of Arabia.' More influential and famous in her day than her colleague Lawrence, Bell was an explorer, spy, archaeologist and diplomat who helped shape the Middle East after World War I and established the Iraq Museum, infamously ransacked in 2003. Advisor to Winston Churchill and outspoken critic of colonial policies in Iraq, Bell was considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. Voiced and executive produced by Academy award winning Tilda Swinton, the film uses stunning, never-seen-before footage of the region to immerse the viewer in Bell's world. The story is told entirely in the words of Bell and her contemporaries, excerpted from letters, private diaries, and official documents. LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD chronicles Bell's extraordinary journey into both the uncharted Arabian desert and the inner sanctum of British Colonial power. The film takes us into a past that is eerily current. Why has Bell been written out of the history she helped make?
