From the Same Planet...

Japan chapter.

...‫ﻣﻦ ﻧﻔﺲ اﻟﻜﻮﻛﺐ‬

.‫ﻓﺼﻞ اﻟﻴﺎﺑﺎن‬
Concept
Seeing the world through a young Iraqi girl’s eyes.
The ‘seeing’ in this instance would be best described as a unique and
never-done-before overview. It is not just looking at a country and its
most fascinating attractions, food, culture and sights, it’s looking at its
history and the modern day implications of said country’s past. Places and
subjects are carefully selected where links to Iraqi culture, use of
language, habits, perspective and history are referred to in relation to the
explored subjects. This is not a show where the viewer feels as if they’re
peering into an alien universe, this is a show where we place our Iraqi
viewers — taking in mind our unique history, what we have gone through
and our hopes for the future — in the centre; it is the looking-glass
through which these foreign lands and histories will be explored, only to
find that what makes us all similar far outweighs our differences. We
indeed are all from the same planet.
Target Audience and Format
Main target: Iraqi Millennials and Gen Zs.
Format: This is the point of view of an Iraqi girl who
was born and raised in Baghdad, spent a big chunk of
time away from home and ended up finding pieces of
that home in many of the countries and cultures she
experienced. Your Baghdadi ‘girl-next-door’ will take
you — the viewer — with her on an adventure halfway
across the world. She is not going to tell you why you
are better or worse off, she is here to show you how
and why they’re ‘just like us’ in ways that are
informative, intriguing and inspiring. Simply put: this is
a personal’ travel journal following the traveler who
shoots and narrates her journey but with the additional
inserts of important/ relevant historical references and
events that will be in 2D animation excerpts.
Why Japan?
It’s not just about the Olympics, COVID-19 permitting!
Perhaps many of my generation’s first exposure to anything Japanese was the
daily ‘cartoon’ segment aired by National T.V. — Maruko, Sasuke, Captain
Tsubasa (Majid), and of course the grandest of them all: Grendizer, to name a
few. You can mention any of the songs, characters or stories to anyone at
random and you’re likely to receive an agreeable nod or a laugh. Whatever
morals or messages these shows carried, there’s an entire generation (or two)
that’s integrated the content into their speech, stories or even music. Despite
the format being delivered in a sci-fi storyline, or a young girl’s everyday
school diary. All content was directly relatable. How is that possible, coming
from a country so foreign and so remote in many respects to most Iraqis that
it’s often dubbed as ‘Planet Japan’?

The truth is that the cultural and historical similarities are far more significant
than any superficially perceived differences, be it appearances, technological
advancements, diet or religion. What on the outset looks like an entirely
different universe, upon deeper inspection there’s a blueprint directly relevant
to modern day Iraq: where we have been, and where we can potentially go
next.
From bloodshed in ancient times between tribes over land and power, struggle
with foreign influence and religious divide, to hitting rock-bottom during WWII.
Today’s Japan is often portrayed, especially by the Arab media, as an
unattainable ideal — ‘what we could have been’. This is often accompanied by
images of Tokyo’s fast trains, flashing lights and the lines of politely queueing
commuters; or the other extreme of high suicide rates due to overworking and
the ever occurring natural disasters. These extreme portrayals are further
away from the real Japan where some chaos still ensues — the brawls and the
occasional chairs thrown at each other, is a display by Japanese politicians in
their parliament perhaps far more extreme than any seen in its Iraqi
counterpart. In this technologically advanced society, cash is still king and fax
machines are viable means of official communication. Bureaucracy, red-tape,
niceties and habits are similar to points where I often needed to remind myself
that I’m in Japan. Yet, there’s no denying the wonder of where this country is
’Ganbarimasu’...
In the past year living mostly with a Japanese family to improve my language
skills as well as hands-on cultural experience. What struck me the most is a
general attitude of encouragement among people and an attitude of
‘Ganbarimasu’ which means I’ll do my best, regardless of what’s available or
any extenuating circumstances. It’s a full acceptance of the ‘now’ no matter
what it looks like and to do the best with it. My role is to do the best I can
and help you do the best you can. Any result thereafter is cherished and you
try again until you get to your destination. This attitude is key as to why
despite natural disasters, wars, and usual societal problems like corruption,
gangs and poverty, the negatives don’t outweigh the impact of this
collective way of thinking.

Everything else? The similarities between Iraqi culture and Japanese even
linguistic expressions are so striking, I find myself automatically switching to
Baghdadi occasionally when speaking to my host family.
Today, Japan has two main coexisting religions, a united country despite
previous domestic and foreign feuds, a thriving economy, a chaotic,
frustrating and bureaucratic government, a society still in recognition of its
ancient customs and history. It’s not perfect, but exploring it from an Iraqi
perspective, one cannot help but be inspired that there is a way forward.

It’s all fun and adventure, but there’s food for

thought...
In countries where there’s been foreign interventions, wars, bloodshed, rich
history and cultural diversity, similarities are bound to exist. Why does one
country move forward while another regresses? We can be like Japan but
we can also be like South Africa. What unites and influences one place and
divides and destroys another? Exploring sights, cuisine, history, human
interaction of another culture through the Iraqi perspective will naturally
open up these considerations for our viewers.
A little bit about me....
My name is Zuhal Sultan, I’m 29 years old and was born and
raised in Baghdad. As a young girl all I wanted to do was play
the piano, and I did that to good success to the point where I
used my musical abilities as well as my linguistic ones (I speak
a few languages!) to raise awareness about the effect of war
on Iraqi children. I travelled as a representative for UNESCO
and UNICEF in my teenage years and ended up being named
a Global Changemaker by the British Council at the age of 16.

A year later I campaigned to create Iraq’s first National Youth Orchestra bringing
together young musicians from Arab and Kurdish regions of Iraq. The orchestra was a
great success and I ran it for 5 years until ISIS broke out in 2014 and put us on hiatus.
During that time I received a lot of international recognition including UNESCO’s
Young Artist for Intercultural Dialogue between the East and the West.

As well as running an orchestra and giving talks around the world, I went to Law
school in Glasgow, Scotland and ended up working for a legal tech startup. I then
decided it wasn’t for me and ended up joining ITN News in London working for
Channel 4 and ITV in production and occasionally investigative journalism. In 2016 I
set up a three-month long programme Music therapy programme for Syrian refugees
and Iraqi displaced children in Arbat, KRG, addressing symptoms of post traumatic
disorder. Prior to my decision of taking up my life-long dream of traveling the world
and exploring cultures, I completed an M.st. from the University of Cambridge in
International Relations, focusing on Conflict Resolution.

I still mostly only want to play the piano, but I always wished I can transmit my
experiences and discoveries through my travel to a particular audience, namely my
fellow Iraqis. The studies and experiences plus my personal endeavours have
empowered me to be more, achieve more and aspire for more. I want the viewers of
the show to take the message that your power of one can make a big difference for
all, and sometimes all it takes is a perspective shift.
Japan Chapter Layout
Total: 8 episodes.
Duration: 40 minutes per episode.

Locations

Tokyo: 2 episodes
The initial two episodes will cover an intro into Japan in general and will
dive into popular sights and aspects of modern day capital of Japan,
Kyoto, including pop-culture, food and central areas with reference to
some history. The latter end of the second episode will cover a Tokyo
not often experienced — suburban Tokyo where a much simpler and
surprising way of life thrives, including Mount Takao and the country’s
steepest slope .

Kyoto and Nara: 3 episodes.

A deeper look into the country’s past through exploring the capital of
ancient Japan, Kyoto, its history, the temples and shrines including the
golden temple, cuisine of old Japan and integration of the old and the
new. References to historical events will be inserted as 2D interactive
animated excerpts so as to keep things interesting and engaging for our
viewers. In between there will be visit to old centre of the capital,
exploring street food, and a tour around the breathtaking bamboo forest.

A look into old Japan is not complete without a stopover in Nara —

Japan’s first official capital city, also now famous for having roaming
deers who bow their heads in exchange for an offering of cookies.
 Osaka and Kobe: 1 episode
Apart from its famous Shogunate castle, Osaka is a busy port and
known for its bright lights, interesting street food and friendly
accents with a love for bargaining. A food and culture centric
episode is then not complete without visiting Kobe, a scenic
mountainous port city where the world famous Japanese marbled
beef is a must-have.

Hiroshima and Miyajima: 1 episode

Exploring Japan’s rock-bottom: the previously thought impossible to
rebuild, Hiroshima — the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, its
peace park and its reconstructed castle. Contrasting this with the latter
part of the episode where the peacefulness of the sites of the floating
shrine of near-by Miyajima brings a point of reflection.

Southern Mainland & Okinawa: 1 episode

A ferry trip across the sea from the most Southern tip of Japan to
the Islands of Okinawa where the climate is tropical and the
culture is heavily influenced not only by the weather, but by the
presence of the American military base. The Japan chapter is
rounded off with a reflective of what I found most similar and most
different about the country as an Iraqi, and why it really makes me
feel we’re truly ’From the Same Planet’.

The episodes will cover the ease of taking Japanese transport

including the bullet trains, interactions with locals, and the overall
adventurous sides of discovering a new place including potential and
inevitable mishaps! Light humour will remain an element throughout so
as not to lose the personal and approachable presentation format.
Budget
Equipment hire/purchase: $5000.

Travel expenses, including lodging and activities: $6000.

Presentation, filming, research, animation and editing fees: $2500 per episode.

Total: $31000.

Timeline
The aim is to film, edit and deliever finished material in 6 weeks as of the date
commencing filming. A good period for filming would be the start of the Spring
as it coincides with the famous Cherry Blossom festivities. Should filming
commences late February, early March, then the finalised material will be ready
for airing by mid-April.

Questions or ready to start?

Feel free to shoot me an email on szuhalpno@gmail.com
Or Whatsapp me on +447903612965

Tokyo is GMT+8! Iraq+6.

Thank you and look forward to starting this soon.