German-Kurdish filmmaker Ayse Polat, in an interview with Rudaw at the Fifth Slemani International Film Festival on October 15, 2025. Photo: screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A German-Kurdish filmmaker said on Monday that her Kurdish roots play a central role in shaping her storytelling and called for greater financial support for Kurdish filmmakers, especially women, during the Fifth Slemani International Film Festival.
Ayse Polat, who wrote and directed the award-winning political mystery-thriller In the Blind Spot (2023), told Rudaw that she carries the stories and history of her ancestors in her work.
“My Kurdish roots are very important in shaping my stories because it’s also [that] I am carrying all the stories from my parents, my grandparents, all the history of my ancestors are in me,” she said on the sidelines of the one-week festival which began last Thursday.
She added that there are “very talented, really great” Kurdish film directors in Europe and Germany, noting that it is encouraging to see younger generations of Kurds in Europe now telling the stories of their parents and grandparents through cinema.
Polat said that the biggest challenge facing Kurdish filmmakers globally is funding.
“I think Kurdistan needs funds, film funds, for the generation here in Kurdistan for the young people and also for the established people, [so] that they can do their movies, and this is the most important thing,” she said.
She also emphasized the significance of women in Kurdish cinema, pointing out that while many of the Kurdish stories being told in Europe are made by women, this representation is lacking in the Kurdistan Region and neighboring countries.
The Fifth Slemani International Film Festival kicked off last week under the theme “Kurdish Culture and Mother Tongue,” focusing on the relationship between cinema, cultural identity, and language. About 250 local and international guests, including prominent figures from Arab and global cinema, attended the opening ceremony.
Payam Sarbast contributed to this article.
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