The History of Kurdish Cinema - I
Cinema was invented in 1895 by the Lumiere Brothers in France. From 1895 to 1930–35, except for accompanying music, it was silent. In the 1930s soundtracks were added. During cinema’s silent era the viewer’s level of understanding depended on the viewer’s interpretation, and subtitles . But after sound tracks were added, national cinemas or state cinemas emerged since it became possible for states and nations to express their ideas more easily to their people. Nation-states were quick to use it as a propaganda tool. Both Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s USSR made good use of the cinema. Cinema continued its development after the Second World War with heads of states continuing to make use of it to get across their “message.” Almost from the very beginning of the invention of the cinema’s, shortly before 1900, it was recognized that it was indeed a highly lucrative business.
Kurds started to take an interest in cinema at the end of the 20th century, at a time cinema had existed for more than a century since its foundation. The setting of this film is a time when most Kurds were under the rule of the Ottomans or the Qajar Persians as the Kurdish emirates — under the Mîr system- had declined and no political representation of the Kurds in Kurdistan existed, thus they were deprived of one of the greatest inventions of modern times. A cinema hall was opened in Suleymaniye, the cultural capital of Kurdistan, in 1926 (1). This event was the first encounter meeting of an oppressed nation with one of most powerful inventions of modern times.
As is true of almost every other nation, it can be said that there is a Kurdish cinema, but it must be admitted that it is just at its beginning. The concept of a “Kurdish Cinema” was created for Kurdish cinematography and has stablished itself from the cinema of other peoples. In other words, it can be said that the characteristics of Kurdish films are different from those of independent nations, which distinguishes Kurdish cinema widely from others. But as is well known, the lack of a specific status — which has a major impact on a “people’s cinema” — has delayed recognition of Kurdish cinema as an independent cinematic genre. Instead, for years it has been given the “status” of belonging to the “country of origin” — meaning being classified as a part of Turkish or Iranian cinema. There is an important point to be made. Namely, a concept of the “borders “ of a Kurdish cinema has not been clearly established yet, thus it is still not possible for Kurdish films to claim to belong to the Kurdish nation. In other words, one does not know when Kurdish cinema began nor is its history clear.
A kind of beginning can be recognized in the film ‘Zarê’ — made in 1926, in Armenia. This was only the second Armenian film ever made but the first in the history of cinema to mention the Kurds.(2) The second film, ‘Yazidi Kurds ’ was a documentary set in 1933 in a village in Georgia.
Moving to more modern times, some of the more significant examples worthy of discussion are the films of the great Kurdish actor and director, Yılmaz Güney. Even though not directly stated, the subject of Yılmaz Güney’s films — such as Seyithan, (1968), Umut (Hope), 1970, Endişe (Anxiety), 1974, and more specifically Sürü (The Herd) 1979 and Yol (The Path) 1982- are sociologically, and politically about Kurds and their difficult economic situation.
However, a crucial problem with these films is that the language of the films is Turkish. This causes a specific reduction in Kurds’ identifying with the themes of these two films. The language of a movie is not a sufficient basis for a nation’s sense of belonging.. (3)
e fact that can soothe the hearts of Kurdish cinema lovers is that ‘A Song for Beko’ (1992) is unquestionably the first Kurdish film. Director Nizamettin Ariç produced the movie in Germany and Armenia and the language of the film is Kurdish (Kurmanji).
The First Kurdish Film: Zarê:
“I was at a play (movie) yesterday. I cannot say how amazing it was. Everything is there. The soil, the trees, the people, the water and the air, were gray. This is not life, this is the shadow of life. The sound of tires, the sound of footsteps and the deafening sound of speeches, everything flows in the midst of an extraordinary silence. The symphony of voices that is always present in the harmony of human movements did not exist inside it. ” (4)
This film was made in 1926 in Armenia under the direction of the founder of the Armenian cinema Hamo Beknezeryan. (5) The screenwriter was Hakop Gazaryan, whom the Kurds refer to as ‘Lazo’ and ‘Apo’. (6) Zarê, a black and white silent film, was subsequently dubbed in Turkish and Kurdish.
“Zarê” is a typical Kurdish love story. This may be a spoiler, but it is slightly different from typical Kurdish stories in that the story has a happy ending!
The love between a shepherd named Seydo and a girl named Zarê (7) is the heart of the story. Temur Beg, the leader of the tribe, falls in love with Zarê. However, neither Zarê’s family nor Zarê loves Temur Beg. A letter comes from the Tsarist regime to the governor of the State of Armenia ordering him to raise an army among the Kurds and send it to war. The governor gives the order and sends the commanders to the tribe of Temur Beg. Seydo and Zarê love each other. Temur wants to use bribes to send Seydo to war- — and to kill him there. Seydo learns Temur Beg’s purpose and escapes while they are together in the way of war. After the battle, Temur Beg kidnaps Zarê but her brother wants to save her from Temur. Despite managing to wound Temur, he fails to save her and is killed. Temur Beg bribes the village commander and sheikh to force Zare to marry him. In order to marry Zarê, he makes a wedding plan and announces it. People come to the wedding dinner. At the end of the wedding, Temur Beg wants Zarê to come to his bed but Zarê refuses, so the people decide to stone her as a sinner. Seydo was waiting for just such an opportunity and in the ensuing turmoil, he kills Temur Beg and saves Zarê from stoning.
Cinema is symbolism. Meanings are revealed and concealed through the symbols used. Through the symbolism of Zarê’s customs, clothes, and migration many problems of Kurdish society are revealed within the context of a typical Kurdish story setting replete with feudal life, statelessness, poverty, ignorance and love.
Referring to Beknazeryan’s words about the filming: “I had to get help from inexperienced players for ‘Zarê’. When you want to make a movie on a mountain far away from the city, it is not possible to work with the actors you want. Since it was not possible to cancel the filming, we accepted everyone who showed up. And, I wanted Kurds to be included in the film and so it happened. It improved after a while. An old woman really spat Zarê’s face when Zarê was about to be stoned, thinking that she had actually committed adultery! This kind of improvisation, of course, increases the value of Zarê.
Hamo Beknazeryan achieved great success after the movie Zarê was shown in the USSR, including both Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is also the historic legacy of the successful first Kurdish cinema film. A Kurdish script, Kurdish actors, and Kurdish societal issues are the points that make this film one of the movies in Kurdish Cinema. The first movie in Kurdish Sinema!
Sources:
1- Müjde Arslan, Kürt Sineması; Yurtsuzluk, Sınır ve Ölüm. P 5.
2-According to some claims (?) the first film that mentions Kurdish is “Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life”, made in 1925 as a documentary about the migration of Bextiyaris (in English Bakhtiari , a sub-group of the Lurs) in south-eastern Kurdistan. It must be said, however, that the Kurdishness of the Bextiyaris is not precise. Therefore, it cannot be said that it is the first Kurdish film.
3- According to this, one can define Kurdish Cinema in the words of Yilmaz Özdil as follows: Kurdish movies depend on their directors, according to the way a director introduces, and markets herself/himself, the film becomes or does not become defined as a Kurdish movie.
4- In the words of Maxim Gorky. The chapter on silent film theory. Film Theory: An Introduction, Robert Stam, P. 34
5- He was born on May 19, 1881, in Yerevan and became famous as an actor before becoming a director. He made his first film “Honor” in 1925 and also made “Zarê” in 1926. He received the Stalin Prize for his services and died in 1965. He is known as the founder of the Armenian cinema.
6- Kürtleri Anlatan İlk Film: Zarê, Kürt Sineması; Yurtsuzluk, Sınır ve Ölüm. p.35.
7- Some prefer an alternative name, “Zerê” but is wrong cause change in the meaning of the name.