The Duhok International Film Festival (Duhok IFF) ( ku, فلمه‌ فێستیڤالا دهوك یا ناڤده‌وله‌تی) is an annual film festival held in

Duhok Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate. History The city's origin dates back to the Stone ...

, Kurdistan Region. Each year Duhok IFF presents new and exciting cinema from the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

Cinema and beyond. The 8th edition was held from November 11 to 18, 2021 which focused on

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Overview

The festival aims to showcase innovative films of high artistic value with a notable handwriting made throughout the world. It shall work as a pinnacle point for all wishing to learn more about the possibilities the

Kurdish region Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, ...

s have to offer. Duhok IFF wishes to create an atmosphere of exchange between different cultures and human values. Unique film experiences can be made and people can share their thirst for new discoveries and a passion for cinema in all its diversity. A major task of the festival is to build a bridge between Kurdish film production and worldwide filmmaking. It wishes to create a launch platform for films from

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...

, taking the pulse of new tendencies and offering the opportunity to explore a terrain opening up in contemporary filmmaking. As a unique festival in this region, it understands itself as a force for new talents and meeting place for up and coming filmmakers.

Organizers

The Duhok International Film Festival is organized by the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Culture and Youth, General Directorate of Culture and Arts of

City and the Cinema Directorate of Duhok in cooperation with mîtosfilm Berlin.

Film Program

The Duhok IFF's highly acclaimed film programme presents cinema from around the world encompassing a range of topical and universal themes. In 2015 Duhok International Film Festival screened a line-up of 202 feature, shorts and documentary films from around the world including world premieres, international premieres and the festival reported its highest attendance record to date. Opening the 2015 Festival was the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

submission for the Oscars

Memories on Stone ''Memories on Stone'' ( ku, Bîranînen li ser kevirî) is a 2014 Kurdish-language German-Iraqi film directed by Shawkat Amin Korki. It was produced by mitosfilm and mitosfilm Iraq. It describes the struggles of schoolfriends Alan and Hussein of ...

by Shawkat Amin Korki. The films, from 47 countries, in 38 languages, spanned the Duhok IFF's prestigious competition and popular out-of-competition segments, attracting more than 10,000 in audience attendance. The line-up this year was selected from 600 submissions from 113 countries.

World Cinema

Each year, the Duhok International Film Festival presents in its World Cinema Section a selection of fiction feature films and documentaries and shorts from all over the world. This panorama of contemporary auteur cinema includes films by young talents alongside work by established filmmakers. In this section, the Duhok IFF accept films from the following categories: 1- Feature films: narrative fiction features from around the world with a minimum length of 60 minutes. 2- Documentaries: documentary films from around the world with a minimum length of 60 minutes. 3- Short Films: the short film with a maximum length of 30 minutes can be narrative fiction or documentary.

Kurdish Cinema

The Kurdish Cinema Section presents a selection of

films; Feature, Documentaries, and shorts, made in a Kurdish-speaking region (

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

). In this section, the Duhok IFF accept films from the following categories: #

Feature Films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

: narrative fiction features from

(

) with a minimum length of 60 minutes. #

Documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

: documentary films with a minimum length of 30 minutes. #

Short Films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

: the short film with a maximum length of 30 minutes.

Country Focus

Every year the Duhok IFF brings certain talent from different countries into focus, aiming to create a network with the country in spotlight. * 2012 Focus

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. * 2013 Focus

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* 2015 Focus

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* 2016 Focus

Nordic Countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

*2019 Middle Easter Nation *2021 Focus

Official Prizes

Since its foundation, the Duhok International Film Festival have honored many

and International film-makers and talent. The competition and awards have raised the profile of the winners and made Duhok IFF a destination to discover the best of the region's cinema.

World Cinema Competition

* Yilmaz Güney Award for the Best International Feature-Length Film. (10.000.000 IQD) * New Talent Award for the Best First or Second International Feature-Length Film. (5.000.000 IQD) * Award for best International Documentary Film (5.000.000 IQD) * Award for best International Short Film. (5.000.000 IQD)

Kurdish Cinema Competition

* Award for the Best Kurdish Feature Film. (10.000.000 IQD) * Jury Award for the Best Kurdish Director of a Feature Film. (5.000.000 IQD) * Award for the Best Kurdish Script. (4.000.000 IQD) * Award for the Best Actor of a Kurdish Feature Film. (3.000.000 IQD) * Award for the Best Actress of a Kurdish Feature Film. (3.000.000 IQD) * Award for the Best Kurdish Documentary Film. (5.000.000 IQD) * Duhok Cinema Directorate Award for the Best Short Film made by a Kurdish director. (8.500.000 IQD) * Goethe-Institute Award for the Best Director of a Short Film (for the production of a new film) (5.000.000 IQD) * Short Film Jury Award for a Short Film. (1.500.000 IQD) * Duhok City Award for the Best Feature-Length Film shot in the Bahdinan Region sponsored by Duhok City Government. (10.000.000 IQD) * Award of the Kurdish Writer's Association for the Best Kurdish Diaspora Film. (4.000.000 IQD)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Duhok IFF Official WebsiteDuhok IFF Official Facebook PageDuhok IFF on TwitterDuhok IFF Official Google PageDuhok IFF Official Youtube ChannelDuhok IFF on FlickerDuhok IFF on Instagram
Recurring events established in 2011 Film festivals in Iraq 2010s in Iraqi Kurdistan International Film Festival International Film Festival Kurdish film festivals