Duhok is getting ready for the 9th edition of its International Film Festival

Exodus is the theme of the 9th edition of the Duhok International Film Festival (FII) in Duhok. And for this purpose during the festival days, displaced people and refugees will have a chance to see selected films in a hall in the Domiz, south of the province.

The poster which represents the festival’s 9th edition theme features the silhouettes of an adult holding a child in each hand and a barbed wire lying in front of them as an existential hindrance for these people who have been forced to leave their home behind and now seek a safer place to call home.

The festival is being supported by the Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani who visited the festival’s previous edition in 2021.

According to the artistic director of the festival, award-winner Shawkat Amin Korki, they have been working and preparing for this festival for the past eight months.

With 570 films submitted, 98 foreign and Kurdish films have been selected to be played during the eight days of the festival.

Only 55 films will enter competitions of the festival for awards, of which 28 are foreign films and 27 are Kurdish films.

Director Korki stated that this year’s opening film is the Kurdish film, the Rain Bride, directed by Hussein Hassan.

Rain Bride, which was shot in Duhok and its surroundings, displays the story of Lori, who in her strife to pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer, realizes that she cannot escape the responsibility she has as a mother and wife as well as society’s suppressing expectations and norms.

The 9th Duhok IFF showcases 8 films in the World Documentary Competition program representing no less than 16 different countries.

For this year’s World Short Films in Competition, 11 films will be presented by up-and-coming filmmakers representing 12 different countries.

Duhok international film festival as an annual film festival, brings together hundreds of local and foreign filmmakers, trying to build a bridge between Kurdish film production and worldwide filmmaking.

In addition to attracting generations of Kurds to select Kurdish and foreign films.

The 8th edition of the Duhok international film festival was held in 2021, presenting 94 films, furthermore, it featured a diverse range of classic and contemporary Afghan cinema, to show solidarity with Afghanistan and its people.

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