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A
new horizon for Kurdish film... |
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A new horizon for Kurdish film...
6.6.2006
By Salam Abdulqadir
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Filmmaking in the 20th
and 21st centuries continued to bloom dramatically.
It has introduced the cultural identity of many
nations throughout the world.
In Kurdistan region, where people did not enjoy
democratic freedoms until recently, this important
sector was barely paid any attention to. The
Ministry of Culture of the Kurdistan Regional
Government, KRG, has now taken the initiative and
opened a new directorate. The Cinema Directorate of
the Ministry of Culture, founded in 2001, is
currently working on two major lines. The first one
is to promote educational programs related to cinema
and filmmaking, with the second to produce film.
Opening courses and holding special seminars,
showing one film in the Yalmaz Gonawi hall in the
directorate office on Wednesdays, showing a film on
Fridays in Sami Abdulrahman Park in Erbil on giant
outdoor screens, arranging festivals for short
films, video and audio clips which are produced
recently are all methods used by the directorate to
achieve goals highlighted in the first line. “We
also have a cinema mobile team. They are visiting
rural areas to show movies to the public and to hold
seminars,” Farzeen Karim, 37, the head of the cinema
directorate said.
Realizing the importance of working together with
foreign companies, a delegation from Hollywood
visited Kurdistan Region upon an invitation from the
KRG. They, in the words of Farzeen, enjoyed high
security as they took tours throughout various
places in the region ‘without security guards.’ The
delegation, he said, found that essential
movie-making elements are also available in the
region, such as geographic landscapes, people who
can be trained in the field, storylines, and epics
which can be used as screen texts.
Although informal, a deal was made with Hollywood to
find markets for films made by Kurdish producers so
far in the international market on the condition
that 20% of the revenue will go to Hollywood.
Farzeen mentioned the first deal of its kind; a
35-mm film produced by them entitled “Saddam
Bizirboo”, Saddam Disappeared, which is produced by
Shawkat Ameen, will be sent to Hollywood soon. In
addition to that, the film will also introduce us to
the world. “Up till now, our films have only gotten
their directors fame,” he said, meaning that these
films previously have not done the Kurdish identity
justice other than giving name to their directors.
So far, and with the KRG budget, a number of films
have been produced in the region including Horse and
Hunting Ghosts by Mahdi Omed, Kilometer Zero by
Hunar Salim which will soon be on the big screens in
Germany, Turtles Can Fly and A Time for Drunken
Horses by Bahman Qubadi, and Stars Are Colorless in
Daytime by Sheerin Jahani.
The last one is the most recent one. These films
reflect the miseries and the difficult times
experience by the Kurdish people. Actors and
locations of some of them represent life in the
countryside. The new era for the Kurds has begun. It
is the era of civilized life along with political,
economic and social developments. Now is time for
the screenwriters and producers to reflect these in
their movies. Concerning this matter, the Cinema
Directorate has set up a board of seven people to
scrutinize all the texts before they are given the
green light for production.
Movie Theatres
“The year 2006 is the year of demise of theatres”
said Sirwan Sa’eed, 35, manager of Sirwan Movie
Theatre since 1991. This theatre, opened in 1967, is
one of the four of its kind in Erbil; however, he is
completely disappointed in the whole business. With
his two employees, he has reached the conclusion
that they have to seek another job because holding
their current job means losing more money than
gaining it. “Our business has decreased by 90%.” The
booming time was the 1980s when the theatre received
some 600-700 viewers per day, but now, “only 6-7
viewers,” said Sirwan.
Hamra is another movie theatre, founded in 1948,
which is in a similar situation. This one is going
to be shut down soon and used for other commercial
purposes, its manager Sadq Salih, 60, said. He added
that the money they make daily is not sufficient to
even buy lunch for their only employee.
The other two of the four theatres have already gone
out of business. The building of Salahaddin Theatre
was leveled to the ground, and is planned to be
turned into a parking garage. And the last one,
Crystal Movie Theatre, now has a sign up on its main
gate reading “The building is for rent.”
Why did this happen? After the first Gulf War in
1991, the Kurdistan Region came under what could be
referred to as a double embargo, one by the UN for
being part of Iraq, and the second by the central
regime for being a semi-independence and
self-governing region. Its people turned from
watching entertainment to striving for life, and
thus the number of cinemagoers declined
tremendously. The flow of satellite dishes, CDs to
local markets and also the establishment of a number
of local TV channels all contributed to this gradual
downfall.
In an attempt to rejuvenate the market, some
theatres started to show sexy movies, and the young
people became the target. It was a contradictory
movement to the traditional morality and social
norms. When that happened, “families withdrew their
children from the cinemas,” said Farzeen. To stop
this, the authorities set certain limitations for
them on what could be shown on their screens.
Establishing a cinema city is currently on the table
of the Directorate of Cinema. Accordingly to the
plan, the city is going to be built on a
75,000-square-meter land in Erbil, with up-to-date
facilities. This new agenda of building this city is
expected to attract many viewers.
The movement of filmmaking has already planted its
roots and is going to flourish. Producers are going
to shift from government to private companies. Just
recently, Farzeen said, three private filmmaking
companies applied to be given permits to start
investing in the field.
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