Huner Saleem ( Kurdish: هونه‌ر سەلیم), also transliterated as Huner Salim, (born 9 March 1964), is an Iraqi– Kurdish

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

. He was born in the town of

Aqrah Akre or Aqrah ( ku, ئاکرێ, Akrê, ar, عقرة, syr, ܥܩܪ, Aqra') is a city in the Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Akre is known for its celebrations of Newroz. Etymology The name "Akre" stems from the Kurdish word "Agir ...

(Akre) in

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

. He left

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

at the age of 17, and soon made his way to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he completed school and attended university. Later on, he moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he lives now. In 1992, after the

First Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, he filmed undercover the living conditions of Iraqi

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

. This footage was shown at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. In 1998, he made his first movie, ''Vive la mariée... et la libération du Kurdistan''. His second, ''Passeurs de rêves'', came out in 2000, and his third film, '' Vodka Lemon'', released in 2003, won the ''San Marco Prize'' at the

br>
He wrote and directed all three. He was honored with the prestigious title ''Chevalier des Arts et Lettres'' by French Minister of Culture

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres (born 13 March 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine), often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture from 2004 to 2007. He is a member of the UMP center-right party, and the grandson of Henri Donnedie ...

in 2005. His memoirs titled '' My Father's Rifle'' has been published in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Tamil language, Tamil

His 2013 film '' My Sweet Pepper Land'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He was nominated for the

Asia Pacific Screen Award for Achievement in Directing The Asia Pacific Screen Award The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and prese ...

for this film.

Filmography as director, writer

#''Vive la mariée... et la libération du Kurdistan'' (1997) #''Passeurs de rêves'' (2000) (English Title: Beyond Our Dreams) #''Absolitude'' (2001) (TV) #'' Vodka Lemon'' (2003) #'' Kilomètre zéro'' (2005) #'' Dol'' (2007) #''Les Toits de Paris'' (2007) (English Title: Beneath the Rooftops of Paris) #''Si tu meurs, je te tue ''(2011) #'' My Sweet Pepper Land'' (2013) #"

Tight Dress Tight may refer to: Clothing * Skin-tight garment, a garment that is held to the skin by elastic tension * Tights, a type of leg coverings fabric extending from the waist to feet * Tightlacing, the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset * ...

" (2015) #'' Lady Winsley'' (2019)

Books

# My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in Kurdistan, Translated from

by ''Catherine Temerson'', 112 pp., Farrar, Straus and Giroux. January 2005, . # To doufeki tou patera mou Translated from

by Efi Koromila, 181 pp., Okeanida,Athens, February 2004, .

References

External links

*
Hiner Saleem

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

.
Hiner Saleem, Literary Review, Winter 2005

The Shows: Making a movie in and on Iraq, International Herald Tribune
May 2005. 1964 births Iraqi film directors French people of Iraqi descent Kurdish film directors Iraqi Kurdish people Living people People from Akre {{Iraq-bio-stub