Three movies and two documentaries – which have won international prizes – are part of the show, which began Monday and ends Friday.
“With these movies we wanted to reflect the realities of the four parts of Kurdistan,” Juan Soriu, one of the organizers of the event, told Rudaw in a telephone interview.
The Spanish language documentary “Kobane, volver a empezar” (Kobane, start again), was screened Monday. It was produced this year by the Spanish-language news channel HispanTV, operated by Iran's state-owned public broadcasting corporation.
The film was directed by two Spaniards and recounts the recovery of the northern Kurdish Syrian city of Kobane by the Kurds early this year, after months of heavy fighting with the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Other films include “The Children of Diyarbakir,” by Kurdish-Turkish director Miraz Bezar, “My Sweet Pepperland,” by Iraqi-Kurdish director Hiner Saleem and the acclaimed “A time for drunken horses” by renowned Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi.
The event, at the Municipal Center of Santutxu, was organized by the Bilbao municipality with help from the Newroz Euskal Kurdu Elkartea (The Newroz Basque Kurdish Association).
“Only the dead return home,” directed this year by Austrian Tina Leisch and Ali Can, reflects the reality of the many Kurdish immigrants living in Europe as political refugees who cannot return to Turkey for fear of imprisonment.
“This event is also aimed at informing people that the Kurds are not only involved in forced political conflicts, but are movie makers and artists,” said Soriu.
Kurdish moviemakers like Ghobadi have already made their mark at international festivals around the world. But at the next Oscar awards, another Kurdish director is shooting for cinema’s most prestigious award.
Sahim Omar Kalifa, the only Kurdish filmmaker ever shortlisted twice for best live action short film at the Oscars, has his “Bad Hunter” aiming for top prize at January’s Academy Awards.
Spain’s Basque and Catalonia regions have always shared an affinity with the Kurds, through their shared aspirations of statehood.
