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KPBS Midday Edition

Film Follows Iraqi Translator And Torture Victim To New Life In US

By Pat Finn / Producer
Published September 27, 2018 at 9:09 AM PDT
This story was published more than 5 years ago.
Director, Erin Palmquist, Ghazwan Alsharif and Ghazwan's Army friend Tom Stewart pictured in 2008.
Courtesy of Erin Palmquist
Director, Erin Palmquist, Ghazwan Alsharif and Ghazwan's Army friend Tom Stewart pictured in 2008.

When filmmaker Erin Palmquist met Gazwan Alsharif some 10 years ago, his story seemed at once compelling and dramatic.

The day after the arrest of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Alsharif, a translator for the U.S. Army, was also arrested, suspected of passing information on the U.S. military to Iraqi tribesmen.

He was tortured for several weeks and then suddenly let go with an apology.

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To Erin Palmquist, his story, complete with physical danger, family drama, upheaval, culture shock, and ultimate success was worth telling.

The film "From Baghdad To The Bay," 10 years in the making, is the result.

The film will screen at the GI Film Festival Friday at 6 p.m.

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Pat Finn
Pat Finn previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and KPBS Evening Edition. Finn began her career in broadcasting at KTLA and KCET in Los Angeles. In 1979 she became KPBS’ Public Information Director, then Director of Advertising and Promotion, Program Director, and Director of Broadcasting. She oversaw the station’s local and national productions, including the one-hour documentary Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar, and Child Protective Services, a one-hour look inside the San Diego County agency responsible for the welfare of at risk children. Both programs also aired on public television stations nationwide. Finn has earned honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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