Sidik and the Panther tells the story of a man who travels through the mountains of the Kurdistan Region in search of a snow leopard, believed to be extinct in the area. He dreamed that if he found one, the area would become a national park and bombs would no longer be dropped on it.
“We are very proud of this festival. This festival has to continue,” Doski said in an interview with the festival. He added that he hoped more cinemas would open in Duhok. “I hope four, five cinemas are opened and I will be more pleased.”
The weeklong festival showcased 44 Kurdish and 49 international films in Kurdistan Region’s mountainous Duhok city.
Navid Farjzdadeh won best actor award for the film Zalava, a horror drama set in a remote mountainous Kurdish village called Zalava where villagers believe a demon is among them. The film’s director, Arsalan Amiri, also won the best director award.
“I am happy that the Duhok film festival gets better each year and Kurdish cinema is also getting better each year. Kurdish cinema has good movies this year as well,” Amiri said.
Best actress went to Maryam Boubani for her role in Sisters Apart, a film about a Kurdish soldier going on a mission to find her missing sister in Erbil, among female fighters.
Holy Bread, directed by Rahim Zabihi, about impoverished Kurdish kolbars who transport goods across dangerous border areas and mountains for a living, won the best Kurdish documentary award.
Great Istanbul Depression, directed by Zeynep Dilan Suren, won best international short film. It tells the tale of two university graduates looking for a job on the edge of the metropolis.
The Other Side of The River by Antonia Kilian won best international documentary film. The movie is about a 19-year-old escaping an arranged marriage. She crosses the Euphrates River and finds her new home with the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) who liberate her hometown Manbij from the Islamic State (ISIS).
