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Story Of British Spy Who Drew Iraq's Border Screening At Oriental Institute

By Sam Cholke | October 9, 2017 5:27am
"Letters from Baghdad" tells the story of Gertrude Bell, the largely forgotten British spy who drew Iraq's borders.
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Courtesy of Letters from Baghdad

HYDE PARK — The filmmakers who tell the story of the female Lawrence of Arabia, Gertrude Bell, will be at the Oriental Institute Wednesday to talk about “Letters from Baghdad.”

Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum will be at the museum, 1155 E. 58th St., at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to show their film and talk about making it with actress Tilda Swinton.

The story of Bell is told entirely through her letters, as read by Swinton, and other contemporaneous accounts of her life as a British spy, explorer and political player in the Middle East after World War I.

Bell is perhaps best known for drawing the borders of Iraq after World War I.

The screening is free and open to the public, but registration on the event website is requested.