''Xalko'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by

Sami Mermer Sami Mermer is a Turkish Canadian documentary filmmaker of Kurdish people, Kurdish descent. Biography Mermer was born in Turkey. He studied mathematics at the University of Ankara from 1994 to 1996 and from 1996 to 2000, Environment Engineering ...

and

Hind Benchekroun Hind Benchekroun is a Moroccan-Canadian documentary filmmaker, who was cofounder of the Films de la tortue documentary film studio with her husband Sami Mermer. The duo are most noted for their 2018 film '' Xalko'', which won the Prix Iris for Be ...

and released in 2018. The film profiles Mermer's own birthplace of Xalko, a

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 ...

village in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

where the women are preserving Kurdish tradition after most of the men have left as refugees from the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...

. The film premiered in November 2018 at the

Montreal International Documentary Festival The Montreal International Documentary Festival () is a Canadian documentary film festival, staged annually in Montreal, Quebec. In English, the festival now goes by the name Montreal International Documentary Festival, while retaining the French- ...

. It won the

Prix Iris Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...

for Best Documentary Film at the

22nd Quebec Cinema Awards The 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards were presented on 10 June 2020, to recognize talent and achievement in the cinema of Quebec. The planned 7 June ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but nominees were announced 23 April. Abenaki document ...

in 2020, and Mermer received a nomination for Best Cinematography in a Documentary."Les femmes brillent aux nominations du Gala Québec Cinéma"

Ici Radio-Canada #REDIRECT ICI {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

, April 23, 2020.

References

External links

* 2018 films Canadian documentary films Quebec films 2010s Canadian films Best Documentary Film Jutra and Iris Award winners French-language Canadian films 2010s Turkish-language films Kurdish-language films {{2010s-Canada-documentary-film-stub