Shawkat Amin Korki is an Iraqi screenwriter, producer and film director. His first film, Crossing the Dust, won Best Film at Granada and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, and Best Director at Singapore. Kick Off, his second feature, premiered at Dubai, Santa Barbara, Taipei and Pusan, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. Shawkat Amin Korki's latest film, Memories on Stone, is a rare co-production between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. Memories on Stone was selected as Iraq's entry to the 88th Academy Awards.
In an exclusive interview with Filmatique, Shawkat Amin Korki discusses approaching tragedy with humor, the challenges of filmmaking in Iraqi Kurdistan and his next project.
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FILMATIQUE: Memories on Stone is structured as a mise-en-abîme, a film in which the protagonist, Hussein, seeks to make a film amid a desolate landscape in which resources are always in short supply. Of course, this formal technique of creating a smaller copy of a film within a film, in a sequence appearing to recur infinitely, is as much of a political statement as the circumstances in which both films are made.
What inspired you to adopt this structure for the film? Was the idea of portraying a chapter in recent Kurdish history in this context intentional, or more of a device to reflect on the act of filmmaking itself?
SHAWAK AMIN KIRKI: When shooting my previous films, I always thought about making a movie that shows the difficult circumstances of filmmaking. I used some of my own experiences from the making of my previous movies: Crossing the Dust (2006) and Kick Off (2009).
Memories on Stone is the first Kurdish movie to address Kurdish cinema. It is a panorama on filmmaking in Kurdistan, and the challenges of being a filmmaker: two topics which also illuminate social aspects of modern Kurdistan.
FLMTQ: Can you please reflect on Al-Anfal, and what this chapter of Iraqi history means to you?
SAK: Al-Anfal was a genocide of Kurdish people in Iraqi Kurdistan. But my film does not tell the story of Al-Anfal in a direct way. Actually, my film is not about Anfal— rather, the film within the film is about Anfal. The behind-the-scenes movie is somehow a farce, examining the difficult conditions of making a film with absurdist humor. It has moments of dark comedy. So we can say Memories on Stone is a comedy-tragedy.
FLMTQ: Has the situation improved at all?
SAK: Kurdish people are still suffering today, from a new tragedy that started with the emergence of ISIS. The region is facing another bloody period, and the country is still unsafe, both economically and politically.
It's too difficult to make movies in this situation. Financing is a big challenge, as is finding equipment, and good post-production is not easy. Filmmakers in Iraq don't have good opportunities to screen their movies in Iraq, so their movies can't reach people easily. Most of these films go to international film festivals, but lack good marketing inside Iraq.
In fact, there was no strong cinema industry in the past. Now it is a bit better.
But in Iraqi Kurdistan it's a bit of a different story. Kurdish cinema is a new aspect of art in Iraqi Kurdistan. It doesn't have a long history. In the last 20 years some Kurdish filmmakers here and there have made good films, especially after the semi-independence of Iraqi-Kurdistan after 1991 and of course Kurdish cinema evolved more after Saddam Hussein's regime ended in Iraq in 2003, which prompted a rise in the economy.
But Iraqi cinema does not have a very strong base. For example, for years and even still today we lack proper equipment, post-production houses, movie theaters and professional cast and crew.
FLMTQ: One obstacle that Hussein encounters is casting his lead actress, due to certain expectations of women in society. Can you reflect on this particular trend in Kurdish society, what is expected of women and what motivated you to explore this topic?
SAK: It is complicated to explain the condition of women in our region. Many factors may contribute, such as cultural, religion, traditional and so on. I just focused on one case: women in relation to cinema.
FLMTQ: What challenges of your own did you encounter while shooting Memories on Stone? Was it difficult to shoot a film in Iraqi Kurdistan, and if so, why?
SAK: Filmmaking is difficult everywhere— but filming in Iraqi Kurdistan is much more difficult. There are so many problems. Some of the problems Kurdish filmmakers experience are shown in Memories on Stone; I myself faced some of these problems while I was making Memories on Stone.
For instance, the electric problem with the generator and gas that comes toward the end of the film. It wasn't easy to bring equipment from Germany and Iran. Also casting in three regions of Kurdistan (Iraq, Iran, Turkey); and post-production in Berlin.
FLMTQ: Are you working on anything new, and if so, can you please share with us any details of your next project?
SAK: I'm writing a new script about the education system in Iraqi Kurdistan.
