AN INTRODUCTION TO KURDISH CINEMA
This year, the Pusan International Film Festival is hosting its first-ever Kurdish Film Programmewith a powerful line-up of films by Kurdish directors and I was asked to write an introductionabout Kurdish cinema for the Programme. Considering the fact that the Kurds have no nation-stateand, as a result, have no unified national cinema – having neither the infrastructure nor the relevantinstitutions needed to sustain a film industry – in many ways it feels like there is actually not verymuch to mention about the “history” of Kurdish cinema. It’s also very hard to know where or evenhow to start such a history. The difficulties of Kurdish cinema are completely related to thepolitical, economic, social and cultural conditions of the Kurds and it would, in turn, be whollymisleading to try to fit the more recent wave of Kurdish film and filmmakers into a classicdefinition or understanding of national cinema because of these unique conditions. So I think ashort introduction answering two basic questions – Who are the Kurds? and Where is Kurdistan? –will make it easier to understand the complex issues surrounding this particular cinema, a cinemathat includes so many Kurdish filmmakers passionately making films and winning prestigiousawards around the world at international festivals like Pusan. To read more Download the Article
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