Now a Podcast!
Kurdish Cinema Talks are interviews with Kurdish film professionals, including directors, cinematographers, and more. Originally a discussion group, the talks as of January 2025 are a podcast.
Episode 1: Mano Xelil (Khalil), Kurdish-Swiss filmmaker. Date: January 15, 2025
Listen to the podcast on Buzzsprout or watch it on YouTube!
Hosts
Azad Azizyan is a Kurdish documentary filmmaker and educator based in Los Angeles. He is passionate about using film as a tool for social change. He co-presented a workshop at NYKFF7.
Bilal Korkut, a native of Mardin, North Kurdistan, studied filmmaking in Istanbul and in Mardin. He currently lives in England. Bîraxane (2022), his feature debut, was screened at NYKFF7.
Semiha Yıldız, a native of Şirnak, North Kurdistan, is an animator and multimedia professional. Her debut animated film is Cudîyê Miradan (2021). Currently, she serves as a podcast editor for Botan International and is the co-founder of Your Frame Company.
The three hosts introduce the podcast on our YouTube channel here.
Podcast Details
Language: Kurdish (Kurmancî), or English if the interviewee doesn’t speak Kurdish
Frequency: Bi-weekly, on the 1st and 15th of each month
Available on these platforms: Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and on the NYKCC YouTube channel
The original KCT discussion group (2024)
June 30, 2024: We hosted Kurdish director Ali Kemal Çinar to discuss two of his feature fiction films, Gênco (2017) and In Between (2018).
April 28, 2024: We hosted Mizgin Müjde Arslan to discuss her film I Flew You Stayed (2012).
March 31, 2024: We hosted Shilan Saadi to discuss two of her short films, a fiction and a documentary, An Alley Behind Our House (2010) and My Granma’s Daughter (2014).
February 2024: We hosted Ibrahim Salman to discuss his films 3 Faces of a Mountain Man Who Desires to be a Seal (1991) and A Silent Traveler (1993). Selman was among the first Kurdish artists to use the art of motion pictures to narrate the stories of the Kurdish people.
“I Flew You Stayed” by Mizgin Müjde Arslan
