Jano Rosebiani () is a Kurdish American filmmaker. He is the winner of numerous international awards and has been listed in the top 35 world filmmakers in the book "Cineaste Uit De Schaduw" (Filmmakers from the Shadow) by Belgian celebrity photographer Kris De Witte. Rosebiani was born in a small Kurdish town of

Zumar Zummar (), also () Zemar or Zumar, is both the name of an Iraqi subdistrict located in north Nineveh Governorate and of its seat, the town of Zummar. The population is a mix of Arabs and Kurds, most of whom work in agriculture. Wheat is the pri ...

on the banks of

the Tigris The Tigris ( ; see below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging w ...

and was raised and schooled in the town of

Zakho Zakho, also spelled Zaxo (, , , , ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region, at the centre of the Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing. Zakho is known for its celebrations of Newr ...

. At the age of 14 he along with the entire family took off to the mountains to join the historical Kurdish uprising of 1974. During the time he spent on the snow-covered mountains while often hiding in caves or in camouflaged shelters under the omnipresent Iraqi aerial bombardment, he tried his hands at sketching portraits and script-writing, drawing from what little knowledge he had acquired from reading superhero comics (

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

) and from watching

spaghetti Westerns The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

back in Zakho. Two years later (1976) he received political asylum in the United States. Rosebiani acquired the knowledge of filmmaking at NOVA community college in the mid eighties while managing movie theaters and making experimental videos for a cable television in Northern Virginia. Rosebiani's film debut, ''Dance of the Pendulum'' (1995) a parody to exploitation in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

b-movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

, was lensed entirely in the house of the late

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

, California, doubled as a mountain cabin. However, Rosebiani's true calling was to bring the stories of his oppressed people to the big screen at a time when Kurdish cinema was still to be born -the only Kurdish film that had captured the attention of the West was

Yılmaz Güney Yılmaz Güney (' Pütün; 1 April 1937 – 9 September 1984) was a Turkish film director, screenwriter, novelist, actor and communist political activist. He quickly rose to prominence in the Turkish film industry. Many of his works were made f ...

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

prize winner, "

Yol Yol, YoL, or YOL may refer to: People * Yol (Korean name), a Korean masculine name (includes a list of people with the name) * Yol Pranvarin, a Thai-Nepali actress * Yol Aularong, a Cambodian musician * Elizabeth Acuei Yol, a South Sudanes ...

" (1982). In 2001 Rosebiani folded his Burbank-based production house and headed to the liberated Kurdish region of Iraq (

South Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the 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 Kurdistan), n ...

) where he made his first Kurdish film, ''Jiyan'' (Life). ''Jiyan'' was the first film made in South Kurdistan. It's about the aftermath of the infamous chemical attack of 1987, thus often referred to as 'the

Halabja Halabja (, ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of Halabja Governorate, located about northeast of Baghdad and from the Iranian border. The city lies at the base of what is often referred to as the greater Hewraman re ...

movie'. It was nominated for the Tiger Award at

International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

, and became a festival favorite receiving numerous awards and high critical acclaim, including four-star ratings by BBC World and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Rosebiani's follow up were two documentaries: ''Saddam's Mass Graves'' (2003) and ''Chemical Ali'' (2004) both depicting

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

s and his cousin's crimes against the Kurds. ''Saddam's Mass Graves'' toured the United States following its premiere at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2004. Rosebiani's television productions include a sitcom pilot (3 episodes) entitled ''Radio Citadel'' (2006), and a dramatic series pilot entitled ''House of Hope'' (2014) about gender-related violence and women's empowerment. Rosebiani's narrative features, '' Chaplin of the Mountains'' (2013) and ''

One Candle, Two Candles 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

'' (Kurdish title: Êk Momik, Du Momik) (2014) opened in NYC to mixed reviews. "Chaplin..." was chosen as NYT critics' pick (Feb. 22, 2015) during its USA theatrical run. "Chaplin..." is the first English language film made in the Kurdistan region with a mixed cast of locals, Americans, and Europeans. "Candles..." was selected as a candidate for the 2015 Golden Globes Award. "Candles..." tackles domestic violence in a patriarchal society while depicting a headlong confrontation between the old school and the new generation. Rosebiani's latest work is the documentary ''The 100-Day Promise'' about the war with

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

in Iraq. Rosebiani lives between California and Kurdistan, and has two children (Avesta born 2004, and Janovan born 2006).

Filmography

*''Dance of the Pendulum'' – 1995 *'' Jiyan'' (Life) – 2002 *''Saddam's Mass Graves'' (documentary) – 2003 *''Chemical Ali's Anfal'' (documentary) – 2004 *''Radyo Qelat'' (Radio Citadel) (Sitcom) – 2007 *'' Chaplin of the Mountains'' – 2013 *''

'' – 2014 *''The House of Hope'' (TV series pilot) – 2014 *''The 100-Day Promise'' (documentary) – 2015

Awards

*Nominated – Tiger Award –

Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

– 2002 *Winner – Special Jury Award – New Director's Showcase, Seattle Int'l Film Festival – 2002 *Winner – Best film –

Festroia International Film Festival The Tróia International Film Festival, commonly referred to as Festroia (), was an annual international film festival in Portugal held from 1985 to 2014. Held in the town of Setúbal and named after the nearby Tróia Peninsula where the festival ...

, Setúbal, Portugal – 2002 *Special Mention – In The Spirit of Freedom Award – 19th Jerusalem Int'l Film Festival – 2002 *Winner – Best film – Rights to Have Rights Film Festival, Modena, Italy – 2003

Reviewer quotes

Chaplin of the Mountains: *"Writer and director, Jano Rosebiani, brings a surprising lightness to his material, which is further buoyed by a melodic soundtrack and Jonas Sacks's lovely landscape photography". One Candle, Two Candles: *" osebianimanages to depict the still horrendous conditions faced by the region's women while demonstrating the growing artistic freedom seeping into its milieu".

References

External links

*
The Walking Wounded By DAVID LIPFERT, Offoffoff.com, July 13, 2003

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosebiani, Jano Kurdish film directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)