KurdishCinema

Dol in German Cinemas from 26 of April

KurdishCinema.com  -  April 18 2007






Devrim Kılıç - Melbourne

Hiner Saleem’s last feature film will be released in
German cinemas from 26th of April 2007.  Saleem’s
Dol, which was invited in 57th Berlin Film Festival
last February in 2007 and shown in France at
cinemas before, will be shown at cinemas in the
cities of Germany such as Köln, Hamburg, Stuttgart,
Berlin, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Wuppertal and
Freiburg. In the film Nazmi Kirik, Belçim Bilgin,
Ömer Ciaw Sin, Tarik Akreyi and famous Kurdish
singers Rojin Ulker and Cıwan Haco play the
leading roles.  

Dol takes place in the borders of Turkey, Iran and
Iraq and it draws attentions to the separation of
Kurdistan. It is the year of 2005 in the small
Turkish-Kurdish village Balliova. The film tells the
story of a Kurd, Azad, who wants to marry his
fiancée Nazenin despite the fierce fight between
Kurdish guerillas and Turkish army forces in the
area. The area, shattered by boundary disputes, is
controlled by the Turkish military who represses the
Kurdish villagers.

Turkish soldiers try to stop the wedding ceremony as they oppose the Kurdish song played at
the ceremony. But a fight erupts suddenly between soldiers and villagers which lead to
shooting of a soldier by Azad. As a result Azad has to escape to the Autonomous Region of
Iraqi-Kurdistan, leaving his fiancé behind.   

There Azad meets Cheto, a Kurd from France, who searches the corpse of his sister and he
also Jekaf who as a little girl was kidnapped by Iraqi solders. Azad also comes to know
Taman who brings him along to a guerrilla camp in the Kurdish mountains. There, Kurds are
fighting the Iranian government. Just like Azad, Taman wants to marry his fiancé, but the
wedding ceremony is interrupted by a bombing raid.   

At the end Azad decides goes back to his village to take Nazenin to free Kurdistan, but there
the two lovers are killed by the Turkish army.   

The screening times and cinemas where Dol will be shown in Germany
























About Dol  

    The title of the film “DOL” refers to a traditional Kurdish
    tambourine which is used for festivities as well as for
    funerals in the Middle East. This direct intimacy between
    happiness and sadness is a leading thread throughout
    the movie.

    Once again the Kurdish director Hiner Saleem makes the
    viewers pay attention to his people, the Kurds, who are
    living between borders. Even if Hiner Saleem throws a
fierce gaze at the political reality, the filmmaker never forgets his artistic style. In teamwork with
Andreas Sinanos, the long-time director of photography of Theo Angelopolus, Hiner Saleem
manages to capture minimalist and nearly choreographic pictures of a wounded earth.

DOL is not only a journey through the fascinating landscape of the Kurdish mountains, but
also a portrait of how war influences the life of uncomplicated people.  

Who is Hiner Saleem?  

Hiner Saleem was born 1964 in Iraqi Kurdistan – in north Iraq.
At the age of 17, he escaped via Syria to Italy. In Italy he
continued his education and studied later political science in
Milan. Today Hiner Saleem lives as filmmaker, painter and
author in Paris. In April 2004 his autobiographical book “My
Father's Rifle – a childhood in Kurdistan” was published, and
has already been translated to several languages. In frame of
Festival de Cannes in 2005 Hiner Saleem was awarded with
the "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" by the French minister
for education Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. For his last two
films KILOMETRE ZERO and DOL Hiner Saleem returned to
his Kurdish homeland.  

Films of Hiner Saleem  

2006 - Sous les toits de Paris (Under the roofs of Paris)
in post-production.
2006 - Dol (Offical Selection in Berlinale 2007)
2005 - Kilometer Zero (Official selection in competition - Cannes 2005)
2003 - Vodka Lemon (San Marco Award - Venice Film Festival 2003 - Official Selection,
Toronto Film Festival 2003)
2001 – Absolitude (TV-movie for ARTE)
1999- Passeur de rêves (Beyond our dreams)  
1997 - Vive la mariée...et la libération du Kurdistan (Long live the bride...and the liberation of
Kurdistan), (Best Script - Angers Film Festival, France - Best European Film, Viareggio Film
Festival - International Critics Grand Prize - Audience Award, Mannheim-Heidelberg Film
Festival  

Source: Mitos Film

* Copyright: KurdishCinema.com -
Heidelberg
 Karlstor Kino
 24.05.2007-30.05.20
07
Frankfurt
 Mal Sehn
 26.04.2007-09.05.20
07
Hamburg
 3001 Kino
 26.04.2007-09.05.20
07
Berlin
 Fsk
 26.04.2007-16.05.20
07
Köln
 Filmpalette
 26.04.2007-09.05.20
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Wuppertal
 Cinemaxx
 26.04.2007-09.05.20
07
Stuttgart
 Koki
 03.05.2007-09.05.20
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Freiburg
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 10.05.2007-23.05.20
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Berlin
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 17.05.2007-30.05.20
07