Letters from Baghdad

Gertrude Lowthian Bell, sometimes called the "female" Lawrence of Arabia, was a British adventurer, archaeologist, and political powerhouse who helped shape the modern Middle East after World War I. Voiced and executive-produced by Tilda Swinton, the film chronicles Bell's journey into the uncharted Arabian desert and the all-male halls of colonial power with never-seen-before archival footage of the region shot a century ago that transports the viewer into a past that is eerily current.