According the independent cinema journalist Mansour Jahani, Duhok International Film Festival in memoriam of Yılmaz Güney, the 1982 Palme d’or winner in Cannes, is in an effort to bridge the gap between Kurdish directors and those from the rest of the world, facilitating cultural exchanges among the nations all around the world.
International Feature Film Competition
Saman Mustafa, the planning director of the International Cinema category of 11th edition of Duhok International Film Festival, at the press conference said: "This year, we received 570 films through the film portal, by directors from different countries of the world, and we also selected some from International film festivals; Finally, nine films have been selected for the International Feature competition, the films in the section International Feature Competition compete for the Yilmaz Güney Award for the Best International Feature-Length Film and the New Talent Award for the Best First or Second International Feature-Length Film."
The following titles are the entries:
Inshallah a Boy by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan, France, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Qatar)
Sultana's Dream by Isabel Herguera (Spain, Germany, India)
Empty Nets by Behroz Karamizad (Iran, Germany)
Melody by Behrooz Sebt-Rasoul (Iran, Tadschikistan)
Moon by Kurdwin Ayub (Austria)
Faruk by Aslı Özge (Turkey)
Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour (Egypt, Saudia Arabia)
Andrea Gets a Divorce by Josef Harder (Austria)
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies by Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey).
This year, the 7 selected films which compete for the Award for Best International Documentary Film are as follows:
Lions of Mesopotamia by Lucien Reed (USA)
Silent Trees by Agnieszka Zwiefka (Poland)
The Words Women Spoke One Day by Raphaël Pillosio (France)
It Ain't Where You are From by Philip Jamal Rachid (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia)
Sick Girls by Gitti Grueter (Germany)
Immortals by Maja Tschumi (Switzerland, Iraq)
Al Djanat, the Original Paradise by Chloé Aïcha Boro (France).
International Short Film Competition
Theplanning director of the International Cinema category of 11th Duhok International Film Festival has stated, The 11 selected films compete for the Award for Best International Short Film.
The following titles are the entries:
Lumen Naturae by Arthur Sukiasyan (Armenia)
Ever Since, I Have Been Flying by Aylin Gokmen (Switzerland)
Factory Drop by Petja Pulkrabek (Germany)
Punter by Jason Adam Maselle (South Africa, USA)
A Wedding Day by Achraf Ajraoui (France)
Home is 117 km Away by Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine)
Almost certainly false by Cansu Baydar (Turkey)
Who Loves the Sun by Arshia Shakiba (Canada)
Khabur by Nafis Fathollahzadeh (Iran, Germany)
Minus One by Ferhat Ozmen (Turkey)
21 Weeks Later by Nasrin Mohammadpour (Iran).