Kurdish film hits Canadian screens

A Tale of Love, directed by Ahmad Ramazanzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, was screened in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, Quebec.

VANCOUVER, Canada (Kurdistan24) – A Tale of Love, directed by Ahmad Ramazanzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, was screened in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, Quebec.

Set in Halabja, Kurdistan Region, shortly after the chemical attack ordered by the nefarious Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, A Tale of Love recounts the story of an Iranian journalist who travels to the city and falls in love with a Kurdish woman who survived the tragedy.

The 90-minute feature film was awarded at the 2015 edition of Casa Asia Film Week in Barcelona, Spain, for the Best Film and Best Screenplay of the event’s Panorama section.

The cast includes Ghotbeddin Sadeghi, Shilan Rahmani, Shwan Atuf, Bahman Zarrinpour, and Bahram Radan.

The war drama is in Kurdish and Farsi languages with English subtitles. 

Speaking to Kurdistan24 on the phone, Ahmad Ramazanzadeh said, "Although I grew up in Tehran, I'm interested in giving a voice to Kurdish culture and history."

"The world knows that Kurds are great fighters. It's time for them to learn about our rich culture, our art and literature. Some of the greatest musicians in Iran are Kurds, from Kamakaran to Nazeri, Kalhor, Hassan Zirak, Khaleghi and many more. Cinema with its power and its global appeal is the greatest tool to introduce a new dimension to Kurdish realities."

The director believes "Kurdish businessmen need to feel the responsibility to support Kurdish art and cinema to present a multi-dimensional image of Kurds that will remain in history. They will gain financial profits as well."

Ramazanzadeh has a degree in cinema and has worked as an assistant director for years. His 16mm film, Bashir, won awards in Nantes and New Delhi. He has also directed television series.

Based in Iran, Ramazanzadeh has to work within plenty of red lines to be able to continue his career. The diaspora population does not necessarily understand these limitations and thus criticizes him for failing to present a decolonized image of Kurds.

Sohrab Alipour, a member of the audience during the Vancouver screening that gathered around 200 people, told Kurdistan24 that the Iranian organizers failed to get an English interpreter for Ramazanzadeh and held the post-screening question and answer in Farsi while two-thirds of the viewers were Kurdish.

Shaima Jaff, a Vancouver-based Kurd, told Kurdistan24, "The movie was effective. It's never enough to talk about Kurdish tragedies, including Halabja which is just a small part of what Kurds have been through. The subject of love also never gets old."  

Jaff added that she was there, along with hundreds of other Vancouver Kurds, mainly to support a Kurdish filmmaker and was disappointed by the organizer's insensitivity and their disregard for a significant portion of the audience. 

A Tale of Love, funded by Iran, participated in Bengaluru 2016 film festival in India during the winter.

 

Reporting by Ava Homa

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany