Kurdish film Ji Bo Azadiye by director Ersin Celik, 2019. Photo: Ersin Celik’s YouTube.
SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The Sulaimani Asayish (security) Directorate had prevented screening the Kurdish film Ji Bo Azadiyê, which had been scheduled to play on New Year’s Eve, the management of Cinema Salim said on Monday.
In a statement on their social media page, Cinema Salim said “with the excuse of security and safety of the city, we were warned by the Sulaimani Asayish now to show Ji Bo Azadiyê.”
Cinema Salim was briefly closed by the Asayish on January 8, 2019 for screening a film about the life of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Sakine Cansiz to mark the anniversary of her assassination on January 11.
Ji Bo Azadiyê, or The End Will Be Spectacular in English, tells the story of the resistance of a group of young people against an army that is trying to take over their neighborhood.
It was directed by Ersin Celik and was featured at the Kolkata Film Festival.
In November 2018 Cinema Salim has been banned from screening the film “14 July” (“14 Tammuz”) by Kurdish Asayish (security) forces.
The move comes amid apparent moves by the ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK against Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK-affiliates in Sulaimani province.
The Turkish government has accused the PUK of aiding the PKK and called on the locally-dominant party to close the offices of organizations with close ties to the PKK like Tavgari Azadi.
In 2018 the PUK security forces closed many offices of the Kurdistan Free Society Movement (Tavgari Azadi) across Iraqi Kurdistan. Asayish authorities also asked officials of the Tavgari Azadi to vacate their headquarters in Sulaimani.
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