The Fifth Sulaymaniyah International Film Festival concluded on October 16 after a week of screenings, awards, and cultural activities held under the slogan “Kurdish Culture and Mother Tongue.” The festival, running from October 9 to 16, brought together filmmakers and artists from across the world to celebrate Kurdish and international cinema.
This year’s festival was described as larger and more diverse than previous editions. Out of 1,500 submitted films from 30 countries, 150 were selected for screening. The opening ceremony took place at the Congress Hall of the University of Sulaymaniyah, where local and international actors, directors, and stars appeared on the red carpet. The event also featured a ceramic art exhibition and musical performances by the Kurdish band Payiz (Autumn). The festival opened with the Kurdish feature film “The Yellowing of Walnut Tree Leaves.”
Four “Golden Cypress” honorary awards were presented to notable cultural figures. The Ahmad Kaya Award was given to Turkish writer and thinker Ismail Besikci, while the Tahayi Karimi Award honored Mam Pola for his support of Kurdish cinema. The Martyr Parcham Award went to Kurdish actor Zhian Ibrahim Khayyat, and the Shkoumandi Award was presented to renowned Kurdish artist Bezhan Kamkar.
The festival’s main awards ceremony highlighted the achievements of Kurdish cinema, with “Hard Earth and Distant Sky” emerging as the biggest winner. The film received five of the seven top awards, including Best Film — marking the first time a film from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has earned this honor at the Sulaymaniyah Festival. The film also earned Hewraz Mohammed the Best Director award, Salim Salewati Best Cinematography, Maryam Bobani Best Actress, and Bakhtiar Panjai Best Actor.
In addition, filmmaker Ayshe Polat received the Best Screenplay and Jury Awards for her film “In an Unseen Place.”
The Fifth Sulaymaniyah International Film Festival concluded with optimism about the growing presence of Kurdish cinema on the global stage, reaffirming the city’s role as a vital hub for culture and artistic expression in the region.
