Inside Kurdistan

In the last interview from the Duhok International Film Festival, Mano Khalil discusses his film: Neighbors, a film that explores a Syrian village's Arabization as Assad's Baathist regime begins to assert it's influence in the northern Kurdish region of the country. The story focuses on 6-year-old Sero, as he observes his classes change with a new teacher, and sees his own Jewish neighbors face in...

Sean Wang's film: A Marble Travelogue, may not seem like it has much to do with the Kurdistan Region on it's surface. The documentary follows China's growing demand for marble, specifically marble sourced from an economically struggling Greece. The film explores the complicated nature of modern globalized capitalism. Different aspects of the industry, including status and worth, labor exploitation...

In this first of three different director interviews from the Duhok International Film Festival, Kurdish Director, Actor and Documentarian Kae Bahar talks about the needs of Kurdish media in the future, as well as his own short film submission: Where Was I? Kae Bahar's Website, Joka Films: https://www.jokafilms.com/English/ Where Was I? Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5C88bRGCNo&t=1s...

In this episode, the first of a series of different conversations collected from the Duhok International Film Festival, I sat down with cinematographer Muriel Aboulrouss. She serves as a jury at the festival this year, as well as an instructor in the festival's Nuhat program. We discuss her own artistic approach to film, as well as her insight into what is required for the next wave of storytellin...

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq sits in a very precarious position when it comes to international diplomacy, and one of the consequences of this position is the inability for migrant workers to access proper legal aid and safety from abusive and exploitative employers. Christine Chatto Luna is a business owner and president of the Filipino overseas community, but she has also been a victim to labor v...

Jaco Beerends is the Consul General for the Netherlands in KRI. His agenda contains five different pillars, including focusing on local economics and security to ensure growth in the Kurdistan region as well as with Dutch-Kurdish relations in the future. In particular, we focus on agricultural sustainability and conservation as a cornerstone for this plan, and merging of environment and economic a...

The Kurdistan Region has a series of different challenges with healthcare in general, as discussed in previous episodes (Min. Saman Barzinji). These problems often manifest themselves through logistical challenges, such as space available in public hospitals, and the availability of certain medications throughout the region. These problems exist in the world of psychiatry and psychological assista...

David Hunt is the Consulate General representing the United Kingdom in Erbil. Among a variety of different responsibilities Hunt has with navigating the political differences in KRI and Iraq as well as implementing projects ranging from digitalization to environmental sustainability in Kurdistan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014, as families were fleeing from their homes because of the threat of the Islamic State and relocating to camps, not much emphasis was put on the continuation of proper education for the children in these communities. Jessica Prentice has specialized in developing educational groundwork in KRI for the Yezidi communities that have still not been able to return to their homes eight years since...

Today two guests from the queer community in Kurdistan come to talk about issues ranging from isolation and mental health issues to the recent spike in violence towards gay, trans and other individuals in the LGBTQ community. We also discuss the new legislation currently being proposed regarding expression, advocacy and coverage of queer identity and issues in KRI.  For more information about some...

Since 2014, Sangar Khaleel has played a key role in helping develop some of the most important stories in Iraq and KRI as a fixer for international reporters coming to the region. He got his start during Mosul's liberation, the city where he grew up, and has since become one of the most prominent and highly skilled fixers in Iraq and KRI.  In the second half of our interview, Sangar opens up more...

Since 2014, Sangar Khaleel has played a key role in helping develop some of the most important stories in Iraq and KRI as a fixer for international reporters coming to the region. He got his start during Mosul's liberation, the city where he grew up, and has since become one of the most prominent and highly skilled fixers in Iraq and KRI.  In the first of our two-part interview, we discuss his pas...

Xeyal Qertel grew up in Turkey. Her parents, school and community imparted on her from a young age that her Kurdish identity must be kept a secret. After moving to New York and embracing her heritage more outside of the Kurdistan region, she decided to establish the New York Kurdish Film Festival in 2017. The 2022 festival will begin on October 14th.   For more information on the festival visit: h...

The past decade of education in Kurdistan has been defined by budgetary struggles and a lack of resources for both students and teachers. Education being an enormous topic for any discussion, so for this episode, we've focused on the difference between public and private schools in Kurdistan. Azhin Sayd Abdullah has had experience teaching at both and her experience as teacher in the past decade h...

Noor Matti doesn't require much of an introduction in Erbil. The longtime host of Babylon FM has played an active media role in Kurdistan and Iraq for a decade since he helped found the radio station. He is now stepping back to focus more on his NGO, Shlama Foundation, which focuses primarily on developing housing and infrastructure projects for communities in need living in remote and rural areas...

Following the Barzan genocide in 1983, no one knew what happened to the thousands men who were executed. Dr. Mohammed Ihsan began his work on recovering their bodies over thiry years ago and to this day remains an advocate and scholar in the field of human rights in Kurdistan, Iraq and on the global stage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Randall Rhodes is the President of the American University in Kurdistan.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rising gym culture in Erbil has lead to an increased emphasis on steroid and hormone use for workouts. This, coupled with a lack of consistent regulation, has lead to new health crisis in Kurdistan, spurred on by a plethora of protein stores that sell illegal and dangerous supplements to whoever might be interested. BIlind Dilshad is a registered Crossfit trainer in Erbil, one of the few, and...

Minister of Health, Dr. Saman Barzinji discusses the current obstacles and improvements of Kurdistan's health sector, with specific focus on the differences between public and private hospitals and their capacity in the KRI. He also discusses the discrepancy between rural and urban healthcare and the availability of vital medication in remote areas.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

The KRI is in a unique diplomatic position, operating as an autonomous region rather than a sovereign country. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman has spent nearly a decade in Washington DC. She's operated as the KRG's chief diplomat in the United States. Representative Abdul Rahman has served as Kurdistan's ambassador through multiple presidential administrations and numerous historical hurdles, such as the...

Within all forms of Western Classic music there are regional variations. Most Western composers can differentiate Viennese and Italian composers, and in the Middle East, Oriental composition has the same diversity. Kurdish music has a long history of appropriating and being appropriated from Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi and Levantine classic compositions. Boran Zaza is one of the most prominent and gif...

With the Mesopotamian Region's rich and deep history, it's a given that the fields of archeology and heritage preservation would take root in Iraq and Kurdistan. But with the current and past political developments in the region, coupled with a recent pandemic, excavation and preservation projects have run into numerous obstacles. Professors Schwartz and Bahrani discuss their current projects in K...

Dlawar Ala'Aldeen has worked as a researcher, a professor and a minister in the KRG throughout his career. But his work can all be tied to a common theme of merging the partisan world of policy with the objective, data-based, peer-reviewed one of scientific research. His current institute, MERI (Middle East Research Institute) is dedicated to towards using research to establish better public polic...

In this episode we examine the development of animal rights in Kurdistan and Iraq with Ashti Falakadin, who is an animal rights activist based out or Erbil. In the past ten years, the culture of pets has shifted dramatically in the region, as has the treatment of livestock and working animals. Falakadin has been on the forefront of advocacy, now helping to draft legislation protecting animals. In...

Tanya Aziz is the Coalition Commanding General's special advisor for cultural affairs and politics. She talks about the personal stake of working between cultures in a military capacity, the loss of her friend and colleague, Husham al- Hashimi, who was murdered in 2019, and the current and future state of the Coalition as it continues to combat terrorist activity in Iraq and Syria. For Questions a...