Zer, a film by Kurdish director Kazim Oz, follows a young man raised in New York as he traces his routes to find the song his grandmother sang to him on her deathbed. His grandmother was a survivor of the Dersim massacre, where thousands were killed in a Turkish military campaign to suppress a rebellion in 1937 and 1938.
The festival is held annually in the northern Kurdistan Region city of Duhok. It seeks to serve as a platform for cinema from all four parts of greater Kurdistan and the Kurdish diaspora as well as to build connections between Kurdish and world cinema.
It features full length, short, and documentary selections from both Kurdish and international cinema.
The fifth edition of Duhok IFF will also see the launch of the Nuhat program offering professional mentoring and training to aspiring Kurdish filmmakers. Two workshops on scriptwriting and pitching ideas will be put on in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Irak.
Six films from young Kurdish filmmakers will also be shown on September 13, outside of the official festival selections.
Duhok IFF runs from September 9 through 16. Rudaw is proud to be media sponsor of the festival.
Trailer for Kazim Oz’s film Zer
