Kurdish filmmakers call for conference

The Kurdish Globe


The Ministry of Culture must become more engaged, say directors

Erbil's Short-Film Festival turns into a tougher discussion about Kurdish directors and the cinema itself.

Day two of the Erbil Short-Film Festival turned into a heated debate as the crowd began arguing about problems. Well-known Kurdish film director Bahman Ghobadi described Kurdish cinema as "a child who does not have a mother and father." Ghobadi said the child will collapse if no one holds his hands and takes care of him. "There is a great opportunity in front of the Kurdish cinema because Kurdish cinema has its own signature and culture." Ghobadi also criticized officials in Iraqi Kurdistan Region for not seriously developing Kurdish cinema.

The crowd remarked that the KRG does not have a clear vision regarding Kurdish cinema, and called for an immediate conference with the attendance of government officials to discuss the problems. "It is a good thing to hold a conference, because we need politicians and government officials to listen to us; our biggest problem is that no one listens to us," said Shakhawan Edrees, General Director of Erbil Cinema at the Ministry of Culture.

Edrees noted that eight months ago he was nominated to become the General Director of Erbil Cinema, but he has not had the opportunity to talk with the Minister of Culture for even one hour to discuss issues regarding his department. He admitted that the government has a good budget for the cinema, but it won't distribute the money fairly due to nepotism.

Not only the government, but film directors faced criticism by festival attendances. One attendee complained that Kurdish film directors make films only to show them in the festivals in other countries, not for people in Kurdistan. "Why does the government give money to directors to make films while the directors never show their films to the people of Kurdistan," asked the attendee. The director asked how they could show their films to people in Kurdistan when there are no cinema halls in the region.

Kurdish directors have made a remarkable number of films, and many of them have received international awards. Most have been shown at film festivals in other countries, particularly in Europe, while people in Kurdistan have yet to see many of them.

Erbil city used to have four cinema halls, one of which was destroyed; another was sold. Only two remain open. However, they are suffering financially and may not be open much longer. Meanwhile, the current cinemas in Erbil have bad reputations because they showed pornography in the '90s. Now people rarely visit these cinemas. In addition, there is no plan by the government or private companies to build new cinema halls.

At the Third Erbil Short Film Festival, 15 short films and six documentary films were presented. An independent committee will evaluate all the films, and the best one will receive the Golden Oak Award.