Movie inspiration takes family from Offaly to France in citizenship row

Latif Yahia, the inspiration behind newly released film 'The Devil's Double', is basking in its mainly positive reviews from Paris and not his home in Daingean this week. After 15 years in Ireland, many of them living with his wife Karen and their two children just outside the Offaly town of Daingean, and 105 letters over four years to various Justice Ministers on the subject of his unresolved Irish citizenship application, he has taken his family to France. "I miss my Irish friends," the former body double of Saddam Hussein's son Uday told the Offaly Independent this week. "It was my hope to be one of the Irish nation. I want Ireland to be my country." 'The Devil's Double' stars Dominic Cooper in its main role and tells the story of Iraqi army lieutenant and former classmate of Uday Hussein, Latif Yahia. Forced to become Uday's body double, the story follows Latif through his transformation and his later escape from Iraq and his double. Based on Latif Yahia's book of the same name, Latif says the movie for him was a labour of love rather than a commercial exercise. "I don't want to be a millionaire," he explained, adding that he turned down offers to make the movie from 26 companies including big name studios like Universal in favour of a small independent company so the movie would have more chance of sticking closely to the script of his book. The movie was released in Ireland last Friday, August 12, and Mr Yahia says that anything he makes from it he will give to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, the hospital his two children with wife Karen were born in. Mr Yahia still has fond memories of Ireland, and in fact said he'd return immediately if given citizenship. He made the trip from Paris to Ireland to watch the movie based on his life last weekend, returning to Paris just last Wednesday. Wanting to remain anonymous, he said he met his friends from Offaly and Dublin at a cinema in Limerick to watch the movie, but his identity was quickly spotted by the cinema manager. "I'm very happy with it," he told the Offaly Independent. "I hope everyone likes it." Mr Yahia has written a sequel to his first book called 'The Black Hole', which he suggests may be made into a movie sequel for 'The Devil's Double'. Speaking on his Irish citizenship application, he said he's simply frustrated he has not been given an answer one way or the other yet. "Four years is a long time," he said. "I'm asking him to make a decision."