Mansour Karimian, filmmaker

On December 23, 2023, Mansour Karimian, a Kurdish filmmaker from Rojhelat (Iranian Kurdistan), was killed in Derik by a Turkish military drone strike. He was 39 years old.

The strike was part of the ongoing Turkish military offensive against North and East Syria, targeting civilian facilities and vital infrastructure, and causing widespread destruction and loss of life.

Karimian was born in the city of Sînê (Sanandaj). Over the course of a cinematic career lasting 20 years, he was involved in many aspects of filmmaking, including photography, cinematography, camera, sound recording, and directing.

He is best known for contributing to the cinematography of Tava Sor (Red Sun) and Evîna Kurd (Kurd Love).

His credits as listed on IMDb include:

47 (2013), a film about the Tehran Institute for children with Down Syndrome; he was director of photography. Watch it here.

Sacrifice (2018); camera

Shingal Tears (2018); camera

Sefer (2021) camera. Watch it here.

His work on many other films is not always uncredited.

Mansour Karimian “grew up with a culture of resistance,” said Aram Hesen a member of TEV-ÇAND.  “As an artist, he worked in all four parts of Kurdistan. Karimian came to Rojava because of the Iranian regime’s repression.”

At the time of his death, he was working on a new documentary in the Qamişlo area.

“We will reveal the black face of the enemy by creating revolutionary art, and we will walk in the footsteps of our martyrs,” Hesen vowed in his tribute to Karimian.

The film collective Kezî released a statement that read in part: “’I dream of one Kurdistan united, with no borders, where we can travel and meet freely.’ These were the words of Mansour Kamirian (Pîro) on his last birthday in Rojava….. We promise him that we will struggle for a free Kurdistan without borders. Our martyrs will be always our beacons.”

Iranian authorities refused to allow the return of Karimian’s body to his hometown, Sarandaj. He was buried in Silemani on January 8.