STEVE JOHNSON, CHRIS SEARLE and TONY BURKE review new releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
Explosive impact
An extraordinary documentary on a Kurdish bomb-disposal expert in Iraq makes a devastating impression on MARIA DUARTE

The Deminer (15)
Directed by Hogir Hirori and Shinwar Kamai
KATHRYN BIGELOW'S The Hurt Locker about the work of US bomb disposal experts in Iraq pales by comparison with this extraordinary story of real-life “deminer” Colonel Fakhir, who disarmed thousands of mines with just a simple knife and a pair of clippers.
Hogir Hirori and Shinwar Kamai's powerful, heart-stopping documentary paints a singular picture of this heroic Kurdish father of eight. A local legend in Duhok, he put his life on the line every day to save innocent lives in Iraq.
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