The film, 14 Temmuz (July 14), tells the story of Kurds held in Diyarbakir prison after a 1980 military coup in Turkey. Abused in the jail, a group of prisoners went on a hunger strike.
A planned December 1 screening of the film at Sulaimani’s Salim Cinema has been ordered stopped by the authorities.
The cinema said it will go ahead with the screening, in defiance of the order.
"The Sulaimani General Asayesh and all the security forces must understand that cultural and art activities cannot be treated similar to terror cases," read the statement published Wednesday night.
"The showing of this movie, which some of our leaders think will create problems for their friends, Turkey, and harass them in their sleep, for us in southern Kurdistan, is the continuation of the struggle and is insistence that the peaceful resilience of our people in Bakur [Turkish Kurdistan] is ongoing,” the statement continued.
The cinema said it will not negotiate on its basic rights and have decided it will not halt the planned screening.
Speaking to Rudaw earlier in the day, Rawaz Hama Salih, director of Ghazalnour and Salim Cinema, said the Asayesh have not been able to give them an official reasons why they don’t want the film shown.
"They asked whether this move was about the Kurds of Bakur,” he recounted, referring to the northern part of Kurdistan in Turkey. “We proudly replied 'yes' and said it was about the resistance and struggle of the past years' of Kurds in Bakur."
Salih pointed out the film was screened at the Slemani and Duhok film festivals this year.
"What looks dangerous to me is that the matter seems to be bigger than that, especially after we sensed it received a lot of attention and different interpretations,” said Salih.
In a strongly worded earlier statement, the cinema described the decision as a “continuation of the fascist policy” depicted in the film.
Slamming the “undisguised censorship,” Salim cinema accused Turkey, the US, and regional powers of plotting against the Kurdish struggle.
“We deem these attacks as part of the history of servitude,” it stated, decrying local authorities who “surrender to placate occupiers.”
The cinema demanded the Asayesh, governor, and the Ministry of Culture take a stance on the issue and provide some explanation.
There is speculation that the attempt to halt the screening is part of a wider effort to dampen activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sulaimani.
Ankara alleged the PKK is active in the province and accuses the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – the dominant party there – of aiding the group that is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the EU, and US.
Turkey has refused to permit airlines destined for Sulaimani’s international airport to use its airspace, alleging dangers in the province due to PKK activities.
The PUK has denied the charges and insists that the province is safe.
Asayesh in Sulaimani ordered the closure of offices of unlicensed political parties, including Tavgari Azadi (the Kurdistan Free Society Movement) that is close to the PKK.
The party was instructed to shutter its office by 11pm on Wednesday, but talks are ongoing in an attempt to resolve the matter.
The party said it has a license from Baghdad and applied for one in the Kurdistan Region in 2014, “but have not received any response and according to the law… we are entitled to be given a license."
It urged the KRG and the Interior Ministry to grant them a license or explain to the public why they refuse to give Tavgari Azadi official recognition.
Representatives of the KRG Ministry of Interior were not immediately available for comment.
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