LOS ANGELES, California — The 2017 Universe Multicultural Film Festival (UMFF) proved to be provocative and refreshing including the debut of the Kurdish film 'Kurdistan Kurdistan.' It brought many intriguing films from around the world to the greater Los Angeles area for three days at the Promenade on the Peninsula, RHCC Community Center and Peninsula Center Library in Los Angeles, California. The almost decade old event organized by Maeya Culture Exchange Group LLC, offered a rich variety of films ranging in genres from documentaries and animations to shorts and feature length films, each delving into some form of cultural expression or traditions, with a myriad of works from world cinema represented by films from many countries including China, Korea, Cyprus, Iran, Russia, Japan, and a film from Northern Kurdistan. According to Lynn Tang, the festival executive director: "Films have the power to bring history, culture, and languages together. This is how I found out about Kurds. I did not know much about the people and the land. Watching ‘Kurdistan, Kurdistan’ opened my eyes to the beauty of the music and sad state of people’s lives. "We picked this movie because we would like to learn from one another and educate others and ourselves about our diverse world. Films bring cultural dialogue and understanding for new talents to be showcased through exposure and various competitions such as film market, Red Carpet Fashion Show and gala receptions." She added that the festival provides an opportunity for new talents to be showcased. The Kurdish film "Kurdistan Kurdistan" made its debut on the very first day of the festival. Both the film maker, Bulent Gunduz and the actor, Delil Dilanar were present as were a great many other film makers, artists, actors, members of media. Kurdistan, Kurdistan, is a daring journey of the prominent Dengbej, Delil Delinar to his village after twenty years of life in exile. Delil who plays his own part in real life, vividly brings the psychological trauma of separation from family, friends, after singing a banned song about the chemically frozen city of Halabja. Guduz's naturalistic cinema captures both the trauma of escape, the musical and nostalgic journey of the artist, and the ensuing anxiety and depression that the singer and those whom he had left behind came to feel. The intriguing musical journey, the frequency and intensity of memories and reveries, the noble source of his musical inspiration are the central themes of the film and what it means to be a Dengbej whose overarching messages and secrets are revealed to him by a master Dengbej. One of the hallmarks of the film is how the young Denbej's quest for the discovery of his musical fascination with the verbal art of Dengbeji, imprinted in his cultural psyche through the ubiquitous and authentic influence of a maestro of Dengbej who had socialized him into the secrets of the practice through the power of his unique inventiveness and exploration of nuanced performances of different narratives and genres of Dengbeji. The film also highlights the importance Kurds place on music and musicians. The festival welcomed both the film maker and Dilanar with great passion during an enlightening post-viewing question-and-answer session. Delil was asked to perform during the festival on three different occasions, culminating in his designation as a finalist. The film itself was awarded the Universe Film Festival Cultural Award for its contribution to cultural originality, novelty, and diversity. The filmmaker and the actor dedicated the award to the memory of Kamal Korkut who was killed by Turkish security during the Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakir in 2017. Members of the Kurdish community were in for a big musical treat at the restaurant Niroj Kurdish Cuisine, which gave a warm dinner reception in the honor of the film maker and the actor. All in all, this film festival was an excellent showcase of young talents whose multiple works were informative and culturally intriguing; all dedicated to cultural landscapes, ways and implications of lived experiences. The Festival was indeed a potent example of the importance and relevance of culture to old and contemporary cinema. 'Kurdistan Kurdistan' and Delil Dilanar’s performance added a new and exciting dimension to new understanding of the poetics and politics of Dengbeji and the distinct place that music occupies in the lives of the Kurdish people.
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