French Cinema Nights Return to Sulaimani with New Season of Cultural Exchange

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - After a period of interruption, French Cinema Nights are returning to Sulaimani, opening a new cultural chapter in a city that has long served as one of the Kurdistan Region's most vibrant intellectual hubs.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24 on Saturday, Dana Karim, filmmaker and head of the Zoya Culture Organisation, described the relaunch as more than a resumption of screenings. "The return of French Cinema Nights in Sulaimani, after a period of absence, marks a new step toward reactivating the city's cultural and artistic life," she said. "This project, which over the years has earned a special place among cinema and art enthusiasts, has now returned with a new season and a distinctive programme, more committed than ever to presenting cinema as a shared human language."

Cinema as a Bridge Between Cultures

Dana Karim was clear that the programme's ambitions extend well beyond entertainment. "French Cinema Nights in Sulaimani is not simply a film screening series; it is a cultural project that seeks to build a bridge between cultures through the art of cinema," she said. "The programme consistently prioritizes introducing internationally significant cinematic works, particularly films that engage with human, social, and cultural themes, and that create space for dialogue and the exchange of ideas."

She also spoke to the broader social role cinema can play. "Cinema is far more than a tool for passing time," she said. "It can be a means of understanding the lives of others, of knowing different cultures, and of creating a living dialogue between individuals and communities. For this reason, French Cinema Nights aims to provide an open space for all those who wish to explore the world of cinema and global intellectual thought."

French Institute and Zoya Culture Join Forces

The series is organized by the Zoya Culture Organisation in partnership with the French Institute in Erbil, two institutions that Dana Karim said share a firm commitment to sustaining artistic and cultural activity in the Kurdistan Region. "Both parties have re-emphasized their ongoing support for artistic and cultural activities and for creating an environment conducive to the development of cinema culture in the Kurdistan Region," she said.

Future screenings will feature a selection of French and European films, several of which will be followed by dedicated discussions and special sessions with cinema enthusiasts and professionals. "The goal is for audiences not to simply watch a film and leave," Dana Karim said, "but to become part of a dialogue, an analysis of content, and a transmission of meaning."

Opening with a Cannes-Praised Film

The new season's inaugural screening is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at City Cinema in Sulaimani. The opening film is En Fanfare, a 2024 French dramatic comedy directed by Emmanuel Courcol. The film follows Thibaut, an internationally renowned conductor, who, upon learning he was adopted, discovers he has a brother, Jimmy, a school canteen worker who plays trombone in a brass band in northern France. On the surface, everything separates them, except their love of music.

The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2024 and received strong critical and industry recognition, earning seven César nominations in 2025, while drawing more than 2.5 million admissions in France alone.

The choice of En Fanfare as the opening film carries its own resonance, a story about two brothers divided by circumstance but united by art, screened in a city where culture has consistently asserted itself against the pressures of the region around it.

BRIEF:

French Cinema Nights return to Sulaimani after a period of absence, organized by Zoya Culture Organisation and the French Institute in Erbil. The new season opens June 10, 2026, at City Cinema with the Cannes-selected French film En Fanfare.