cochyn sound

March 2014. Erbil. Kurdistan. We were out there shooting an independent documentary for Chris Hale after he had been through the area as Producer of the "Top Gear Special: 3 Wise Men". The sense of optimism and hope was palpable. With a level of independence from Baghdad and Northern Iraq being the only area that recognised the Kurdish state, the oil money that was in the area gave everyone a belief that things this time might be different. The young people especially were holding on to that belief. We were there for the New Year celebrations and left in the last week of March. A few short weeks later we would be seeing Erbil on the news for very different reasons. The Taliban were at the door.

In "The Cradle of Civilisation" fortunes change quickly.