On the closing ceremony of the III Moscow Kurdish Film Festival took place in the capital's Illusion cinema. The film “Things Unheard Of” won in the nomination “Best Short Fiction Film”, the film “The Mountains: A Feminine Narration” won in “Best Documentary Short Film”, the jury recognized “Bîr” as the “Best Documentary Film”, and “Best Feature Film” - "The Hole in the Wall".

The closing ceremony was attended by representatives of the films participating in the festival, as well as members of the jury and representatives of the Russian film industry: Best Short Fiction Films jury member Amir Gholami, musician and director of the film “Tamira” Farid Elhami, “Things Unheard Of” director Ramazan Kilic, director of the film “The Mountains: A Feminine  Narration" Rebwar Mahmudpour, director of the film "Bîr" Veysi Altay, director of the closing film "5 Kilos of Walnuts" Behrouz Ghobadi, actor Mohammad Nouri and actress Tima Taghizadeh, jury member Dmitry Kiselev (director and screenwriter), Chairman of the jury producer Ekaterina Filippova, actress Ksenia Surkova, artist Tatyana Vafina and others.

The closing ceremony was hosted by theater and film actor Dmitry Serdyuk. This year, the focus was on Iranian Kurdistan with its rich history and traditions. Films from this region reflect the diversity of ethnicity and geographical vastness of the Kurdish people.

The feature film competition included 5 full-length films, the documentary competition included 7, and the short section included 27 feature and documentary films.

The presenter recalled that the festival prize is called “Golden Sun”. This is a crystal stele on which a disk with 21 rays is engraved. The sun is the ancient religious and cultural symbol of all Kurds. The sun emblem is in the center of the Kurdistan flag. The sun is a symbol of creative energy, the supreme deity and the embodiment of its all-pervading power.

As part of the festival, the “Night of Kurdish Cinema” was organized, where all films were shown in the original language with Russian subtitles all night long one after the other in a unique space, as well as the exhibition “Kurds: Traditions and Modernity”, showing contemporary Kurdish art, which will last until October 21.

The jury for the Best Short Fiction Film competition included Iranian director, writer and film critic Amir Gholami and Iraqi theater and film actress Chrika Mohammad Ali and the chairman of that jury was actor, director, writer and journalist from Dohuk (Iraqi Kurdistan) Ibrahim Selman, who made about 80 short films.

The film “Things Unheard Of” (directed by Ramazan Kilic) won in the “Best Short Fiction Film” competition. The award was presented to him by Amir Gholami.

Ramazan Kilic admitted that he was very happy about this award. He thanked the jury for their choice, as well as all the festival organizers.

The short documentary competition was judged by director and screenwriter Keyvan Fahimi, who is chairman of the board of directors of the Iranian Institute of Arts and Culture, and Damascus-born German director and producer Nesreen Abdeen. The chairman of the jury for Best Short Documentary Film competition was director and screenwriter Rebera Doski from Duhok.

"The Mountains: A Feminine Narration" directed by Rebvar Mahmudpour won in Best Short Documentary Film competition. The award was presented to the director by Behrouz Ghobadi.

Rebvar Mahmudpour shared that it was especially valuable for him to receive this prize today, since 4 months ago he lost his mother and was in mourning. And now this award means a lot to him.

Victoria Shishkova, co-owner of the Triptych contemporary art gallery, also presented a separate prize - Special Jury Mention "For a captivating narrative that explores themes of personal growth, overcoming boundaries and the pursuit of dreams" - to the film "The Last Five Minutes" directed by Shahram Maslakhi.

The jury for the feature-length documentary competition included actor, director and producer Danny Darel, who has acted in many famous films, and director and producer Havi Ibrahim. The jury was chaired by Iranian director Shilan Saadi, who is a member of the Iranian Association of Documentary Filmmakers and the winner of many awards.

In the “Best Documentary Film” category, the winner was the film “Bîr” directed by Veysi Altay about the search for the remains of victims of persecution and torture in the 90s in Kurdistan. The award was presented by a member of the jury of the feature film competition, director Dmitry Kiselev, who noted that thanks to the festival he learned a lot about Kurdish culture and expressed gratitude for the invitation to take part in it.

Director Veysi Altay said that he dedicated his film to the people fighting for the liberation of Kurdistan.

Margarita Karatygina, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, presented a separate prize - Special Jury Mention "For a versatile narrative about the forgotten part of the Alevi Kurds of Kurdistan, revealing the skill of playing the tanbur and the deeply rooted beliefs of the Yarasans" - to the film "Tamira" directed by Farid Elhami.

Margarita Karatygina especially noted that the contribution of Farid Elhami and his film to world culture is priceless; it is dedicated to tradition, which is the source of life. Farid Elhami himself thanked the jury and organizers and said that he dedicates his award to love and beauty in this world, as well as to all who love life.

Also, a separate prize - Special Jury Mention "For the love of your heroes and creating a world of magical realism" - was awarded to the film "Pirebok" directed by Lutfi Irdem. It was presented by actress Tima Taghizadeh. The award was received by Nurullah Kaya, who played the main role in the film.

The jury that selected the Best Feature Film included Russian director and screenwriter Dmitry Kiselev, theater and film actress Yulia Khlynina, and the chairman of the jury was the head producer of the Pan-Atlantic Studio film company, member of the European Film Academy and the European Producers Association Ekaterina Filippova.

“Best Feature Film” went to “The Hole in the Wall” directed by Bilal Korkut about an American Kurdologist who managed to immerse himself in the world of poetry in Kurdistan. The award was presented by the chairman of the jury Ekaterina Filippova. “Everything national - cinema, music, painting - behind it has a huge layer of culture, it is something special. This is a layer of energy. Thank you for the opportunity to see wonderful Kurdish films,” she noted.

Unfortunately, Bilal Korkut, who was present at the festival and personally presented his film, left before the ceremony for another screening in New York, so his assistant Rozhda Orala received the prize.

By the end of the festival, its director Inna Tedzhoeva thanked all the filmmakers who submitted their films to the competition, those who came to present them in person, the audience who went to the cinema and shared their impressions, she expressed gratitude to the jury for their work and involvement, and also thanked every festival partner.

“And the most important thing is that we managed to take another step in promoting Kurdish culture. And I really hope that the festival will grow and develop, and more and more people will support it, and more and more people will get acquainted with our wonderful culture and very difficult history,” she said.

“I would like to especially thank the "Mansour Jahani" independent and international cinema journalist, who published the news of these three periods of the Moscow Kurdish Film Festival in different languages ​​in the publishing Middle East media,” she said.

Inna Tedzhoeva also announced that starting this year a special new award will be presented - “For Contribution to Kurdish Cinema.” And this time it is awarded to Farid Elhami.

The President of the international Moscow Kurdish Film Festival, Kerem Gerdenzeri, officially declared the III Moscow Kurdish Film Festival closed and invited everyone to take part in the show next year.

The festival ended with a screening of the film “5 Kilos of Walnuts”. The film was presented by Iranian-Kurdish director Behrouz Ghobadi, actor Mohammad Nouri and actress Tima Taghizadeh.

For more details: www.moscowkff.ru

Public Relations of III Moscow Kurdish Film Festival.