by Savan Abdulrahman in Sulaymaniyah
The 28th of December was the day of the first presentation of film in the public sphere and marks International Day of Cinema.
In Sulaymaniyah, the Ministry of Youth and Culture together with the cinema sector arranged a festival to celebrate the event.
Mariwan Ibrahim, the representative of the Minister of Youth and Culture gave a speech about the importance of cinema and its influence on society. “Cinema is a widespread artform. People use cinema worldwide to express messages they want to give and make change in the society.” He said.
Many directors, actors and producers participated in the festival to support the future of Kurdish cinema. Among the activities included in the programme were a music concert and the juries of the festival awarded prizes to five Kurdish actors and directors.
Two of the International Day of Cinema awards went to Aso Omer Swara and Pshtewan Noori Badawi – The two Kurdish artists and actors who faced death during past few years.
Three of the Golden Sun Awards went to the three best actors and filmmakers; Rozhan Hamajaza, Abdulrahman Muhamad and Karokh Taha.
The festival went on for two days and twelve previously unseen short films were presented for the first time along with the trailers of two full length movies coming up.
The list of the films were:
Scent of Dream Directed by Rekawt Muhamad
Hajar Directed by Halgurd Salih
Dying in The Garden of Apples Directed by Kamaran Jamal
The Wind Girl Directed by Dana Akram
Mother’s Scent Directed by Mariwan Ibrahim
A Voice from Far Away Directeed by Shakhawan Abdulla
Knife and Life Directed by Zheer Faraidoon
Room 317 Directed by Srwsht Abarash
The Road Directed by Dene Bakr Sorany
Hug Directed by Rekawt Hama Tofiq
Empty Home Directed by Ako Aziz Mirza
Dark and Plain Directed by Ranj Mustafa
