Duhok International Film Festival
The films of competition section of 11th edition of Duhok International Film Festival were introduced and they compete with each other to win the Golden Hair Leaf award and prize of $10,000. According to the report of Mansour Jahani, Duhok International Film Festival in memoriam of Yılmaz Güney, the 1982 Palme d’or winner in Cannes, is in an effort to bridge the gap between Kurdish directors and those from the rest of the world, facilitating cultural exchanges among the nations all around the world.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION
Saman Mustafa, the planning director of the International Cinema category of 11th edition of Duhok International Film Festival, said, "This year, we received 570 films through the film portal, by directors from different countries of the world, and we also selected some from International film festivals; Finally, nine films have been selected for the International Feature competition, the films in the section International Feature Competition compete for the Yilmaz Güney Award for the Best International Feature-Length Film and the New Talent Award for the Best First or Second International Feature-Length Film."
• “Inshallah a Boy” by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan, France, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Qatar)
• “Sultana's Dream” by Isabel Herguera (Spain, Germany, India)
• “Empty Nets” by Behroz Karamizad Iran, Germany)
• “Melody” by Behrooz Sebt-Rasoul (Iran, Tadschikistan)
• “Moon” by Kurdwin Ayub (Austria)
• “Faruk” by Aslı Özge (Turkey)
• “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo” by Khaled Mansour (Egypt, Saudia Arabia)
• “Andrea Gets a Divorce” by Josef Harder (Austria)
• “One of Those Days When Hemme Dies” by Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey)
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
This year, seven has been selected films to compete for the Award for Best International Documentary Film.
• "Lions of Mesopotamia" by Lucien Reed (USA)
• "Silent Trees" by Agnieszka Zwiefka (Poland)
• "The Words Women Spoke One Day" by Raphaël Pillosio (France)
• "It Ain't Where You are From" by Philip Jamal Rachid (United Arab "Emirates, Bahrain", Lebanon, Saudi Arabia)
• "Sick Girls" by Gitti Grueter (Germany)
• "Immortals" by Maja Tschumi (Switzerland, Iraq)
• "Al Djanat, the Original Paradise" by Chloé Aïcha Boro (France).
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
• Eleven selected films will compete for the Award for Best International Short Film.
• "Lumen Naturae" by Arthur Sukiasyan (Armenia)
• "Ever Since, I Have Been Flying" by Aylin Gokmen (Switzerland)
• "Factory Drop" by Petja Pulkrabek (Germany)
• "Punter" by Jason Adam Maselle (South Africa, USA)
• "A Wedding Day" by Achraf Ajraoui (France)
• "Home is 117 km Away" by Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine)
• "Almost certainly false" by Cansu Baydar (Turkey)
• "Who Loves the Sun" by Arshia Shakiba (Canada)
• "Khabur by Nafis Fathollahzadeh" (Iran, Germany)
• "Minus One" by Ferhat Ozmen (Turkey)
• "21 Weeks Later" by Nasrin Mohammadpour (Iran)
MAIN PRIZES OF THE FESTIVAL
Ravand Zaid, the planning director of the Kurdish Cinema category in Duhok International Film Festival, said, "from June 15, 2024, we started accepting works through Film Portal to participate in the 11th edition of this festival. Finally, on September 1, 2024, we received 180 Kurdish films; that after evaluation by the selection board of the festival, 46 films were selected in the final stage to participate in the competitive and out-of-competition of Panorama. After evaluation by the selection board of the festival, 46 films were selected in the final stage to participate in the competitive and out-of-competition of Panorama to receive the awards for the best film, best actor, best actress, best screenplay, best director, and award FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, as well as the Duhok Governorship Award compete with each other."
KURDISH CINEMA FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION
In the feature film category, eight films have been selected to enter the competition and vie for the awards.
• "The Virgin and Child" by Binevsa Berivan (Belgium)
• "Winners" by Soleen Yusef (Germany)
• "When The Walnut Leaves Turn Yellow" by Mehmet Ali Konar (Turkey)
• "Sakar" by Ibrahim Saedi (Iran)
• "Hêvî" by Orhan Ince (Turkey)
• "Caucher" by Moshfegh shojaei (Iran)
• "Scenarist" by Sami Sabah (Kurdistan Region)
• "A Happy Day" by Hisham Zaman (Norway)
KUDISH CINEMA DOCUMENTARIES COMPETITION
This year, eight films have been selected to compete for the Best Documentary Award
• "Landless like the wind" by Borhan Ahmedi (Iran)
• "The Grapes of Wrath" by Maria Mavati (Iran)
• "Gelawe" by Mohammed Hamzepour (Iran)
• "Rojin is Dream" by Serwa Alivaisy (Iran)
• "Son of Mountain" by Ehsan Karimkhani (Iran)
• "White Sheets" by Zanyar Azizi (Iran)
• "GotûbêJin" by Nimet Gatar (Turkey)
• "Our Ismail" by Fatin Kanat and Önder İnce (Turkey)
KURDISH CINEMA SHORTS COMPETITION
Twelve pieces have been selected in the short film competition to vie for the best prize.
• "Morî" by Yakup Tekintangaç (Turkey)
• "House of the Moon" by Hamidreza Maghsoudi (Iran)
• "Beyond The Mind" by Lanya Nooralddin (Kurdistan Region)
• "Son" by Saman Hosseinpuor (Iran)
• "Untimely" by Mohemed Abdulaziz (Kurdistan Region)
• "Privacy" by Habib Zahirnia and Meisam Amiri (Iran)
• "Wall, the Wall" by Yusuf Ölmez (Turkey)
• "Home-Made" by Rojda Ezgi Oral (Turkey)
• "A House Near the Sun" by Maryam Samadi and Roni Schamlian (Iran)
• "Limo knew everything" by Edris Mahmoudian (Iran)
• "Garan" by Mahsum Taşkın (Turkey)
• "Boars" by Ramin Mohamadyar (Iran)
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