ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Renowned Kurdish rock star Kerem Gerdenzeri will perform at the seventh annual Duhok International Film Festival (IFF), the event’s press office said on Wednesday.
Gerdenzeri is considered to be the founder of Kurdish rock music. He started a band called “Koma Wetan” with some friends in 1973 and performed in Georgia shortly after in 1978.
The band notably donated the earnings from its first record “Baye Payize” or Autumn Wind to the victims of the Halabja genocide in 1988.
Gerdenzeri, 67, currently lives in Russia.
The upcoming Duhok film festival is set to take place from Sept. 9 to 16 in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province with several Kurdish and foreign filmmakers participating in the event.
The event features a host of different programs and competitions, including a five-day panel to explore the progress of Kurdish cinema in the autonomous Kurdistan Region.
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The Duhok IFF wants to establish a podium for cinematic work in all four parts of the Greater Kurdistan, and link Kurdish cinematic work to the international community.
The event will be held under the title “Tolerance,” and will feature Kurdish, Arabic, and foreign films that focus on coexistence and acceptance, particularly in the Middle East.
Kurdistan 24 is this year’s media sponsor.