Huner Saleem (

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

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

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He was born in the town of

Aqrah Akre (, , ) is a city located in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is disputed by the Nineveh Governorate and the Duhok Governorate which both partially claim it. Akre is known for its celebrations of Newroz. History The city was built in ...

(Akre) in

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

. He left

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he lives now. In 1992, after the

First Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) was an armed conflict between Iraq and a multinational military coalition led by the United States, triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Persian Gulf War may also refer to: * Shatt al-Arab conflict ...

, he filmed undercover the living conditions of Iraqi

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

. This footage was shown at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. 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 ''Vodka Lemon'' (, , ) is a 2003 internationally co-produced comedy-drama film directed and co-written by the Iraqi–Kurdish director Huner Saleem. Plot The film is set in a Yazidi village in Armenia, still suffering economically from the Sov ...

'', 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 Donnedi ...

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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

and Tamil language, Tamil

His 2013 film ''

My Sweet Pepper Land ''My Sweet Pepper Land'' is a 2013 Kurdish-language internationally co-produced drama film directed and co-written by Huner Saleem. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated in the 7th an ...

'' 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 for Best Director, formerly known as the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Achievement in Directing, is an award category of the annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The award has been given annually by the Asia Pacific Scre ...

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) #''

'' (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) #''

'' (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 Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

.
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