BY MANO KHALIL

Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which previously ruled over the entire Arab world and the Kurdish region, in the World War I, followed by the division of Kurdistan into four countries – Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq – these governments, up to the present day, have prevented the Kurdish people in these regions from expressing their cultural, social, and national identity in all areas of art, literature, and culture. Cinema was most affected by this ban since it has a significant impact on the younger generation.

As a result, Kurds were forbidden from producing any film in the Kurdish language. Even when an occasional director of Kurdish origin emerged, they had to keep their national identity secret, and the film was not allowed to contain a single word in Kurdish to prevent filming and distribution.

In this article, we will briefly discuss the “Kurdish cinema”, specifically Kurdish films in the four parts of Kurdistan and the key directors in each region where approximately 45 million Kurdish people live and most known Kurdish directors in diaspora.

Until the early 1980s, there were hardly any signs of what could be termed Kurdish cinema or Kurdish films, except for a few documentaries secretly filmed by some European journalists in Kurdistan. In 1982, the then-famous “Turkish director” Yılmaz Güney, who had been known as a Turkish director until that time, produced his film ‘Yol’ and suddenly declared his Kurdish heritage and national affiliation to the Kurdish people. He arranged to fly to France, where the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and jointly awarded the Palme d’Or Equal share with Costa Gavras. For the first time, a “Turkish” film included some dialogues in Kurdish. Suddenly, this film became a symbol in every Kurdish household, and people watched it without understanding the Turkish dialogues. This event gave many young Kurds courage and served as an incentive for them to engage in the “struggle” for the freedom of the Kurdish people. One of them, the author of these lines, abandoned his law studies at the University of Damascus in 1986 and did everything to pursue the study of film direction, until his dream came true, and he traveled to the former Czechoslovakia to study film direction. He was one of the first to academically study film direction, and his sole goal was to return to his homeland after graduation and produce films about the Kurdish people. Upon his return, he managed to shoot a single documentary on 16mm film about a Kurdish family in Syrian Kurdistan, which was enough to drive the regime to madness and accuse him of separatism. He was eventually arrested briefly and later fled to Switzerland.

In 1992, following the Second Gulf War, the international coalition forces established what was then known as the “No-Fly Zone” and “Safe Haven” for the Kurds in Iraq. From that point on, many young Kurds with no prior practical or academic experience began to delve into film direction, and here, a gateway of hope opened. In Iraqi Kurdistan, there was support for Kurdish films without censorship and the surveillance of the secret police. Films began to proliferate, especially from some Kurdish directors from the Iranian part of Kurdistan who found refuge and an opportunity in Iraqi Kurdistan to prove their Kurdishness, at least by directing films with stories from Iraqi Kurdistan and Saddam Hussein that had nothing to do with the Kurdish part of Iran where they lived. Films were also shot in other parts of Kurdistan in Turkey and Iran by circumventing censorship regulations in those countries. At the same time, European directors of Kurdish origin who had studied at international film schools began to produce films that reached a certain level of proffesionality. These films participated in many international film festivals and received awards.

Here, we can briefly discuss each part of Kurdistan and the diaspora where Kurds are active in the film industry:

Kurdistan in Iraq: After the fall of Saddam Hussein and the liberation of Iraq in 2003, Kurdistan achieved a degree of independence, which had a positive impact on film production. A Film department in culture Ministry was established in the government of Kurdistan, and many narrative and documentary films were produced in the region, gaining attention locally and regionally. Film festivals were launched in Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah, and there are ongoing festivals where young Kurds can showcase their films and watch international films. Notable directors working in the narrative film field in Iraqi Kurdistan, whose films have been showcased at international festivals, include names like Shawkat Amin Korki and Hussein Hassan, among others.

Kurdistan in Turkey: Approximately 25 million Kurds live in Turkey. The Turkish government forbids the Kurdish people from speaking Kurdish in public. The publication of printed literature or artistic works in Kurdish is not allowed, particularly Film production in Kurdish. Even mentioning a word or having a dialogue in Kurdish in a film is enough to halt the film, prohibit its screening, and subject its producers and directors to terrorism charges. As a result, Kurdish directors in Turkey face two main issues: firstly, government control that does not acknowledge the existence of the Kurds and pressures Kurdish directors to address topics other than those they desire to tackle. Secondly, the financial pressure exerted by the government, which refuses to provide any financial support to any cinematic work related to the Kurdish people, leading to the banning of these films from distribution and publication. As a result, Kurdish directors in Turkey face significant difficulties in circumventing strict censorship. Occasionally, some films are produced with individual efforts and minimal budgets, often without any government support. Recognized Kurdish names in the field of narrative films in Turkey include Kazım Öz, Erol Mintaş, Mohammed Ali Konar, and others.

Kurdistan in Iran: In the Iranian part of Kurdistan, the regime similarly monitors film production and prohibits Kurds from making films about Kurdish reality in the Kurdish language. This prompted some Kurdish directors from Iran to go to Iraqi Kurdistan after the fall of the Baath regime to make films about Iraqi Kurdish subjects. The Kurdistan Regional Government supported them financially, and several films were produced. Unfortunately, some of these films were simple melodramas aimed at evoking viewer sympathy through scenes involving non-professional actors, such as disabled children, physically or mentally disabled individuals, dwarfs, or overweight people. These films depicted the Kurdish people as backward and distant from civilization. Fortunately, this approach was later abandoned.
In Iranian Kurdistan are some known names like Ibrahim Saidi, Salim Salawati, Bahman Qubadi, and others.

Kurdistan in Syria: In this small part of Kurdistan, where approximately 3 million Kurds live, the Baath National Arab government in Syria prohibited Kurds from uttering a single word in the Kurdish language in cultural life. Officially, there were no Kurds in Syria, and thus, it was inconceivable to have Kurdish films or a Kurdish cinema in this region. This changed when the civil war in Syria against the Baath regime began, and the Kurdish people in this part started to defend themselves against ISIS, establishing a semi-autonomous region for Kurds in Syria “Rojava”. Some young people from this region attempted to make films, but unfortunately, they remained ideologically driven.

Kurdish Cinema in the Diaspora: Due to restrictions on many Kurdish directors, banning them from filming in Kurdistan, many were forced to immigrate to European countries. There, they enjoy freedom of expression and are not subject to censorship when they express their Kurdish identity. These directors have produced films that can be considered not only “purely Kurdish” and have achieved a high professional level. They have participated in international film festivals and received numerous awards. These films have found audiences in Europe and worldwide, and some of the directors, such as Mano Khalil from Switzerland, Ayşe Polat, Hüseyin Tabak, and Hussein Karabey in Germany, Hisham Zaman in Norway, Sahim Omar Kalifa in Belgium, Hinner Salim in France, Kurdwin Ayub in Austria and some others.[1]