Alwan was forced to shoot his movie Zaman, the Man From the Reeds on videotape, as when Iraq was under severe economic sanctions, the United Nations and United States would not allow Iraq to import 35 and 16 millimeter film stocks, because they believed that the materials contained some chemicals that could have been used to produce weapons of mass destruction.
[2] So, he then transferred it to 35-millimeter film when he went back to Paris, where he lived since 1980.
He also had issues dealing with the Iraqi government censors.
[2] Alwan died after battling cancer in Eaubonne, France, on 4 July 2023, at the age of 66.
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