Why Iraq’s Yazidis are upset over new film depicting IS massacres
"The Dark Wind," a film directed by Hussein Hassan, sparked a large-scale objection among Yazidis at this year's Dahuk International Film Festival. The film was screened the first day of the festival, held Sept. 9-16 in Dahuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, despite protesters' claims that the film presents a bad image and twists facts about Yazidi women who were captured by the […]Saad Salloum writes for Al-Monitor:
"The Dark Wind," a film directed by Hussein Hassan, sparked a large-scale objection among Yazidis at this year's Dahuk International Film Festival.
The film was screened the first day of the festival, held Sept. 9-16 in Dahuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, despite protesters' claims that the film presents a bad image and twists facts about Yazidi women who were captured by the Islamic State (IS) and escaped its grip.
The Yazidi community had previously objected to the film and demanded that changes be made. Yet, the director did not respond to their call, Qader Hassan, a Yazidi activist, told Al-Monitor. He said the Yazidi Lalish Dahuk cultural center asked permission to watch the entire film before the festival, following which "we expressed reservations to the director [who attended the cultural center showing] and asked him to delete offensive scenes. He did not delete them, although he promised to do so.”
