SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - The Fifth Slemani International Film Festival opened on Thursday with the theme “Kurdish Culture and Mother Tongue,” celebrating cinema as a bridge between Kurdish identity and global storytelling. The week-long event brings together filmmakers from around the world who say the festival helps preserve Kurdish language and culture while connecting with international audiences.
German director Betty Lerche, who joined from Berlin as a juror, told Rudaw English that the festival plays a vital role in elevating Kurdish cinema.
“Festivals like the Slemani International Film Festival are very important for this Kurdish region and for… Kurdish films,” Lerche said. She has produced several Kurdish films.
“Every Kurdish movie is a part of a mosaic from cultural and historical memory,” she added.
“These festivals are made for creating [a] future for the Kurdish nation and Kurdish people. Biji Kurdistan!”
Lerche appeared at the opening ceremony wearing a golden necklace of Greater Kurdistan - a cultural symbol representing Kurdish-majority regions across Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The necklace was a gift from her Kurdish neighbor in Berlin, a former Peshmerga fighter she affectionately calls “baba.”
“The Kurdish language and the Kurdish culture is very deep in my heart,” Lerche said. “For me it is very important to have things like Rudaw, to have things like the Slemani International Film Festival because it brings people together.”
This year’s edition focuses on the relationship between cinema, cultural identity, and language.
“This year’s festival sheds light on the Kurdish language and the voice of the youth,” festival director Fuad Jalal told Rudaw on Wednesday. “It emphasizes the firm link between cinema, cultural identity, and the preservation of national heritage.”
The festival, running until October 16, showcases 150 films from 30 countries, screening at the University of Sulaimani’s Congress Hall and City Cinema halls.
About 250 local and international guests, including prominent figures from Arab and global cinema, attended the opening ceremony, which featured a ceramic art exhibition and live music by the Payiz group.
The festival includes domestic and international competitions and 19 awards will be presented to outstanding filmmakers.
Four honorary awards were presented on opening day. The Ahmet Kaya Award was given to Turkish scholar and sociologist Ismail Besikci. The Taha Karimi Award went to Mam Pola, known for supporting Kurdish cinema. Actress Zhyan Ibrahim Khayat received the Martyr Parcham Award. And the Shkomandi Award was given to artist Bijan Kamkar.
Kurdish filmmaker Zana Aziz told Rudaw that he hopes to help develop Kurdish cinema and “introduce it to the world,” urging businesspeople and politicians to invest in the growing industry.
“Such support would be both culturally valuable and profitable,” he said.
Aziz said the quality and diversity of Kurdish productions have improved in recent years despite limited budgets. “It is not easy,” he added, explaining that he has sold personal property to fund his films.
Rudaw Media Network is the festival’s media sponsor. It is also screening 31 of its own documentaries outside the main competition, exploring historical and human stories from Kurdistan and beyond.