How to empower Kurdistan’s homegrown cinema: Part I
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step,” says Taoist maestro Lao-Tzu. Even Olympic sprinters start out with baby steps.
Kurdish cinema too has taken its first cautious steps and has to some extent succeeded in standing on its own two feet. With the right encouragement and genuine support, these little steps could become great strides.
While on this train of thought, let us examine Nollywood for inspiration. Nollywood is the largest film producing industry in the world, larger than Hollywood and Bollywood. It feeds the entire continent of Africa with inexpensive but thriving entertainment.
Nigeria’s post-independence film industry was born out of the necessity to fill a gap and took many years to develop into an industry of such a magnitude.
Imagine having a Nollywood of our own (a little ‘Kollywood’ perhaps?) to feed the Kurdish population worldwide and our co-inhabitants in Asia Minor and the Middle East.
Kollywood? Or we should name it after one of our cities in the vein of Bombay and Nairobi? I would vote for Duhok (Dollywood?), since the city already has a well-established film festival and is the most active in the Region in terms of film production.
Café talk aside, the time is riper than ever to stride out on the journey of a thousand miles. Understandably, empowering a young and fragile cinema industry needs more than mere contemplations.
True we are small. True we are constricted. And true we throw up our own obstacles. But the inbuilt desire to grow could be mightier than any roadblock.
Last year I was asked by the Minister of Culture and Youth to produce a report sharing my thoughts on ways to empower Kurdish cinema.
Firstly, I identified the issues, obstacles, and shortcomings faced by Kurdish cinema. Rather than sticking plaster solutions, I then sought to identify the root causes and suggest ways to eliminate them.
There is no single magic remedy for the industry’s ills, but rather a succession of steps that require earnest collaboration between the public sector (the Ministry of Culture and Youth), the private sector (investors and venue providers), the public (viewership), and producers.
The public sector carries the heaviest share of this burden. The Ministry of Culture and Youth can lay the foundation for a workable system that will incorporate sound initiatives and regulations. Initiatives should include the setting up of a production support scheme, creating a pool of experts in the field, and marketing the films.
First and foremost, the Ministry needs to undergo across-the-board reform along with the implementation of a modern system managed by an enlightened and wholesome staff.
The management team will then administer an annual fund to support carefully selected projects comprising feature films by seasoned directors, short films by aspiring filmmakers, and TV drama series by qualified television channels.
For the second initiative, acting and cinema studies ought to be added to the state school curriculum from first grade onwards to create a culture of cinema fandom and career interest.
This should be followed with the founding of an accredited film academy. It can be a private or small public academy, or perhaps a department for cinema studies can be added to the state-run Fine Arts Institutes.
A better option would be to open a department at one of the private universities for the AA degree with an affiliation to an established film school in the United States or Europe for BA attainment. To this end, I am currently in preliminary talks with one of the finer universities here in the Kurdistan Region.
On the marketing side, the Ministry should set a quota for public theaters. For instance, a cinema with four halls should dedicate one to homegrown films at all times. One quarter of films in theaters would be locally produced, subject to change in the future once the industry begins to flourish. Many countries, France in particular, use such quotas to promote their cinema industries.
A similar quota can be set for television stations. For instance, one quarter of the films on air should be local productions. Likewise, for every foreign drama or comedy series aired, a Kurdish equivalent should be screened, either produced in-house or acquired from local producers.
The Ministry should further encourage the private sector to open cinemas, especially in small towns, by giving monetary and tax-break incentives. This strategy was implemented in Iran in the early days of cinema, leading to Iran’s strong cinema culture and industry seen today.
A decree should also be issued to local radio and TV stations and to daily newspapers to list Kurdish films playing in theaters and on TV. These should be released as public service announcements free of charge to filmmakers.
Another marketing initiative would be the establishment of a Kurdistan film sales branch to promote and market Kurdish films at major festivals and film markets worldwide. This can be incorporated within a film commission office whose other duties will be the promotion of Kurdistan as a shooting location for foreign producers and the creation of a database of locations and domestic talent.
The other players – the private sector, the public at large, and the filmmakers themselves – are equally responsible for making or breaking the industry. Their contribution and duties are intermingled with, and to a good extent dependent on, the public sector.
In the upcoming sequel to this article, I will expand on each of these elements and throw in my two cents.
With a new government in formation, the Islamic State (ISIS) no longer a threat, a determination to pick up where we had left off in pre-ISIS days, and a thirst to move forward, my wish is that the above will be thoughtfully considered and implemented, not only in words but in deeds.
Kurdish cinema too has taken its first cautious steps and has to some extent succeeded in standing on its own two feet. With the right encouragement and genuine support, these little steps could become great strides.
While on this train of thought, let us examine Nollywood for inspiration. Nollywood is the largest film producing industry in the world, larger than Hollywood and Bollywood. It feeds the entire continent of Africa with inexpensive but thriving entertainment.
Nigeria’s post-independence film industry was born out of the necessity to fill a gap and took many years to develop into an industry of such a magnitude.
Imagine having a Nollywood of our own (a little ‘Kollywood’ perhaps?) to feed the Kurdish population worldwide and our co-inhabitants in Asia Minor and the Middle East.
Kollywood? Or we should name it after one of our cities in the vein of Bombay and Nairobi? I would vote for Duhok (Dollywood?), since the city already has a well-established film festival and is the most active in the Region in terms of film production.
Café talk aside, the time is riper than ever to stride out on the journey of a thousand miles. Understandably, empowering a young and fragile cinema industry needs more than mere contemplations.
True we are small. True we are constricted. And true we throw up our own obstacles. But the inbuilt desire to grow could be mightier than any roadblock.
Last year I was asked by the Minister of Culture and Youth to produce a report sharing my thoughts on ways to empower Kurdish cinema.
Firstly, I identified the issues, obstacles, and shortcomings faced by Kurdish cinema. Rather than sticking plaster solutions, I then sought to identify the root causes and suggest ways to eliminate them.
There is no single magic remedy for the industry’s ills, but rather a succession of steps that require earnest collaboration between the public sector (the Ministry of Culture and Youth), the private sector (investors and venue providers), the public (viewership), and producers.
The public sector carries the heaviest share of this burden. The Ministry of Culture and Youth can lay the foundation for a workable system that will incorporate sound initiatives and regulations. Initiatives should include the setting up of a production support scheme, creating a pool of experts in the field, and marketing the films.
First and foremost, the Ministry needs to undergo across-the-board reform along with the implementation of a modern system managed by an enlightened and wholesome staff.
The management team will then administer an annual fund to support carefully selected projects comprising feature films by seasoned directors, short films by aspiring filmmakers, and TV drama series by qualified television channels.
For the second initiative, acting and cinema studies ought to be added to the state school curriculum from first grade onwards to create a culture of cinema fandom and career interest.
This should be followed with the founding of an accredited film academy. It can be a private or small public academy, or perhaps a department for cinema studies can be added to the state-run Fine Arts Institutes.
A better option would be to open a department at one of the private universities for the AA degree with an affiliation to an established film school in the United States or Europe for BA attainment. To this end, I am currently in preliminary talks with one of the finer universities here in the Kurdistan Region.
On the marketing side, the Ministry should set a quota for public theaters. For instance, a cinema with four halls should dedicate one to homegrown films at all times. One quarter of films in theaters would be locally produced, subject to change in the future once the industry begins to flourish. Many countries, France in particular, use such quotas to promote their cinema industries.
A similar quota can be set for television stations. For instance, one quarter of the films on air should be local productions. Likewise, for every foreign drama or comedy series aired, a Kurdish equivalent should be screened, either produced in-house or acquired from local producers.
The Ministry should further encourage the private sector to open cinemas, especially in small towns, by giving monetary and tax-break incentives. This strategy was implemented in Iran in the early days of cinema, leading to Iran’s strong cinema culture and industry seen today.
A decree should also be issued to local radio and TV stations and to daily newspapers to list Kurdish films playing in theaters and on TV. These should be released as public service announcements free of charge to filmmakers.
Another marketing initiative would be the establishment of a Kurdistan film sales branch to promote and market Kurdish films at major festivals and film markets worldwide. This can be incorporated within a film commission office whose other duties will be the promotion of Kurdistan as a shooting location for foreign producers and the creation of a database of locations and domestic talent.
The other players – the private sector, the public at large, and the filmmakers themselves – are equally responsible for making or breaking the industry. Their contribution and duties are intermingled with, and to a good extent dependent on, the public sector.
In the upcoming sequel to this article, I will expand on each of these elements and throw in my two cents.
With a new government in formation, the Islamic State (ISIS) no longer a threat, a determination to pick up where we had left off in pre-ISIS days, and a thirst to move forward, my wish is that the above will be thoughtfully considered and implemented, not only in words but in deeds.
Jano Rosebiani is an American-Kurdish scriptwriter, director, producer, and editor associated with Kurdish New Wave cinema. This is the first part of a two-part series on promoting Kurdish cinema. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw. |