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Soleen Yusef

Director
Born in 1987 in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, filmmaker and screenwriter Soleen Yusef studied directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her graduation film, 'House without a Roof' (2016), received multiple honors, including the First Steps Award and the Audience Award at the Max Ophüls Preis film festival. She went on to direct for internationally acclaimed series such as 'Skylines' (2019) and 'Deutschland 89' (2020). Her most recent feature film, 'Winners' (2024), opened the Generation Kplus section at the Berlinale and won the German Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Films

House Without Roof

House Without Roof

By Soleen Yusef

2016 | 117 min | Drama

Touching work on three Kurdish siblings who want to transport their mother's coffin through Iraqi Kurdistan territory. A road movie and a local movie.

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Paradies! Paradies!

Paradies! Paradies!

2016 | 78 min | Documentary

The Kurdish Kurdwin grew up in Austria and takes a critical view of this visit "home". Filming, she tries to find out why her father is euphoric about Kurdistan. In 1991 Kurdwin Ayub fled Iraq with her family to Austria. Almost 25 years later she accompanies her father on a journey to his former home. While he contemplates a returning to live permanently in Iraq, Kurdwin and her cousins feel like strangers in their own homeland. An intimate, sometimes bizarre and sobering portrait of the generation ...

Diaries of a Flying Dog

Diaries of a Flying Dog

2014 | 75 min | Documentary

Both, as well as Fayad's mother, suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. The film deals with the use of fear in Lebanese society in educating children, as well as the omnipresence of the (continuous) civil war. By following the director's efforts to reappraise his family history and deal with his fears and phobias and those of his dog, the film reveals a society that systematically adopts fear as an educational approach and produces generations that are forever preparing for war. "Ironically, ...

Panoptic

Panoptic

2017 | 70 min | Documentary

Panoptic ventures into the underground of Beirut to examine the schizophrenia of Lebanon: a nation striving for modernity while ironically ignoring the vices that prevent modernity. While the Lebanese population has chosen to turn a blind eye to these shortcomings, Rana Eid, an ordinary citizen, explores the paradoxes of her society through sounds, iconic monuments, and secret hideaways. “A harrowing, moving, and captivating debut.” (4:3 - Four Three Film)

The Rojava Experiment - A Society On The Move

The Rojava Experiment - A Society On The Move

2019 | 58 min | Documentary

It represents an authentic counter-design to the forces in the Middle Eastern region. At its core are grassroots democratic self-governance, reorganization of the economy and supply in cooperatives, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious concepts, women's and justice centers. However, the democracy experiment not only had to stand up to IS, but still faces powerful enemies - Will Rojava have a future?

Fraulein

Fraulein

2006 | 77 min | Drama

Ruza left her homeland Serbia over 30 years ago and lives in Zurich. Her everyday life takes place in a meticulously constructed world, until Ana appears one day. Ana, the young woman from Sarajevo, is beautiful, hungry for life, somehow lost – and she upsets Ruza's firmly established order. A tender friendship develops between the two headstrong women. Director Andrea Štaka takes an intimate look at three women in Switzerland who come from different parts of a country that no longer exists (the ...

Birds of September

Birds of September

2013 | 99 min | Documentary

People are invited to share a personal moment. It is a thoughtful portrait of some of the city's inhabitants as they sit at the back of the van and express their innermost thoughts. Sarah Francis' documentary BIRDS OF SEPTEMBER is her debut film and was screened at CPH: DOX and the Art of the Real New York. "A portrait of a city and the people who live there, which amazingly enough manages to unite a number of otherwise highly different genres into a unified whole. An original and accomplished ...

Exit Right

Exit Right

2015 | 3 min | Shorts

Look away or intervene? When a man is victim of unfounded abuse in a packed bus, there is only one passenger who doesn't ignore the situation like everyone else. How do you best confront xenophobia? Is it right to stand up for the one abused or is it too great a risk of becoming a victim too? When a black man is abused by a stranger for no reason in a packed bus, there is only one passenger who doesn't ignore the situation like everyone else. He has the courage to step up and intervene. This doesn’t ...

If You Die, I'll Kill You

If You Die, I'll Kill You

2011 | 91 min | Drama

In IF YOU DIE, I'LL KILL YOU, Kurdish-Iraqi director Hiner Saleem (MY SWEET PEPPER LAND), looks at the Kurdish community in Paris. Siba is played by Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson). Avdal dreams of staying in France and plans to bring his fiancée, Sibato, Paris. She’s due to arrive in the next few days. The two men strike up a friendship when unexpectedly, Avdal dies and Philippe has organize funeral arrangements for his friend. What should he do with the body?

Nirwana

Nirwana

2013 | 52 min | Drama

Based on a true story, NIRWANA tells of a modern odyssey that also "symbolizes the inattention to those on whose backs our prosperity is carried out". (Director's commentary) Din Islam lives with his family in a small village near Chittagong, the largest port city in Bangladesh. To feed his family, Din and his close friend Amin head off to the city to look for work. After a long and disappointing day, they stroll around the darker parts of the city, looking for a place to sleep. Their decision to ...

Na Sdorowje! Babuschka!

Na Sdorowje! Babuschka!

2011 | 22 min | Comedy

Today is Tatjana's birthday but no one cares. Disappointed, Tatjana falls asleep but is woken by her Russian family who turns Anne's house upside down. As the saying goes: The best thing about a family, you're never alone. The worst thing is, you're never alone! An upstanding German household goes nuts. Far from her Russian homeland, Tatjana cares for Inge, an old and fragile German woman. But today is Tatjana's birthday but no one cares. Disappointed, Tatjana falls asleep but is woken by her Russian ...