A joint production of Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan and Germany, ‘Memories on Stone’ has been selected to represent Iraq as the official submission for the 88th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign-Language Film.
The movie is the latest work of Iraqi Kurd director Shawkat Amin-Korki. Its cinematographer is Salem Salavati from Iran, IRNA reported.
It tells the story of two childhood friends, Hussein and Alan, who decide to produce a film about the genocide of Kurdish people in Iraq, the al-Anfal campaign of 1988, after the fall of the former dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003. The film details the frustrations of the movie crew in filming the genocide.
Produced in 2014, the movie has circulated the world, taking part in numerous film festivals, and receiving accolades.
It won the UNESCO Award at the 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2014 and the Black Pearl for best film from the Arab world in Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the UAE, in 2014 among other prizes. It was recently screened in the main auditorium at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.
Born in Iraqi Kurdistan, Amin-Korki, 42, fled to Iran where he stayed until 1999. During those years and later when he returned to Iraqi Kurdistan, he worked for television, theatre and cinema. His films have been presented at many international festivals and have won several awards.
The 88th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in February 2016.
