Land of The Heroes (Shortfilm shot on location in Iraq)

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

'Land of the Heroes' is directed by Sahim Omar Kalifa and produced by a team productions (Hendrik Verthé & Kobe Van steenberghe).

The short film was shot by myself (Light: Robrecht Heyvaert) on location in and around Zakho, Iraq. It was shot with the original sensor on a (very old) set of arriflex Schneider Kreuznach prime lenses (18mm,28mm,40mm,50mm,75mm and 2X). Grading was also done by me in apple color.

Story: Rural Iraq, 1988. Saddam’s victory propaganda monopolizes the TV. While their mother and auntie are polishing artillery, young Dileer and Zienee’s must tolerate cousin Malo, a bullying little spitfire. Under sweltering heat, both adults and children display the desensitizing effects of war. A thought-provoking and hard-hitting story from the Eastern home-front. (Source: Toronto CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival)

I uploaded a teaser (first minutes) on vimeo.

LINK: http://www.vimeo.com/17491020

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Land-of-the-heroes/163964617010095

AWARDS:

- Jury Award Best Short Film Generation International Film Festival Berlin
- Jury Award Best Film Busan International Short Film Festival South-Korea
- Award Best Cinematography Busan International Short Film Festival South-Korea
- Award Best Film San Gio Short Film Festival Verona
- Special jury award Human image films competition Baghdad International Film Festival
- 16ORO - Winner of Golden Short Sedicicorto Film Festival Italy
- Zavattini Award at the Reggio Film Festival in Emilia, Italy
- Third prize in the Yilmaz Guney Short Film Competition at the 7th edition of the London Kurdish Film Festival
- Muhr Arab Short Second Prize at the 8th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival
- Honorable mention at the 29th edition of the young audience festival Ale Kino - Poland
- Honorable Mention by the Jury – Evolution Film Festival
- Golden movie award at the 17th Honk Kong independent short film festival
- Rio Tinto Alcan award at the International Short Film Festival Saguenay -Canada
- Jury Award- Best Short Fillm - Kingbonn international film festival - China
- Jury Award - Best International Short Film - Film Leben Festival in Ilmenau - Germany
- Best Short film award - Amed International Film Festival - turkey
- Best Direction award - LAW International Short Film Festival - Erbil
- Best Editing award - LAW International Short Film Festival - Erbil
- Silver award Best Short Film - Duhok International Film Festival - Duhok
- Silver public award - Hangzhou International film festival - China
- Silver jury award - Hangzhou International film festival - China



OTHER OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:

- Worldwide Short Film Festival Toronto
- Gulf Film Festival Dubai
- Festroia International Film Festival Sétubal
- Hamburg International Short Film Festival
- Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival Santiago De Compostela
- International Short Film Festival Leuven
- Cinepublic Short Film Festival Gent
- Brussels Short Film Festival Courtmétrage
- InDPanda International Short Film Festival Hong Kong
- IFI Film Festival Dublin
- Kavalan International Short Film Festival
- Manchester Kurdish Film Festival
- LISFE Leiden International Short Film Festival
- Prend ça Court Montréal ‘Best of’ Selection
- I’ve Seen Films International Film Festival Milan
- Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival Prizren
- Film Festival Della Lessinia Bosco Chiesanuova
- Film Festival Oostende
- Festival Int. de Cinema Les Percéides Perce
- Off Courts Int. Film Festival Trouville
- Kurdish Film Festival Frankfurt am Main
- Nederlands Film Festival Utrecht
- Bagdad International Film Festival
- Images en Vues Short Film Festival Magdalen Islands
- Festival Le Printemps du Cinéma Arabe Paris
- LFF Leiden International Film Festival
- Cinemagic International Film Festival Belfast
- Calamartes Film Festival Antwerpen
- Arab Shorts Cairo Film Festival
- Seoul International Youth Film Festival
- International Film Festival Gent
- International Film Festival Regiofun Katowice
- International Film Festival Ankara
- Kurdish Film Festival Berlin
- Latin Arab International Film Festival Buenos Aires.
- Rio De Janeiro International Short Film Festival Curta Cinema
- Moscow Short Film Festival
- Travelling Film Festival Rennes
- IFVA Asian New Force Awards Hong Kong
- Latin Arab International Film Festival Buenos Aires
- Istanbul International Film Festival
- Festival du Court Métrage Maghribo-Asiatique Tissa
- Zoom Zblizenia Film Festival Jelenia Gora
- Arab Shorts Beirut Libanon
- International Film Festival Izmir
- FEC International Short Film Festival Cambrils-Reus
- Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen
- Festival Du Monde Arabe Azrou-Ifrane
- French Alliance Film Festival Abu Dhabi
- Sydney Kurdish Film Festival
- VIS Independent Short Film Festival Vienna
- International Short Film Festival Maremetraggio Trieste
- Arab Shorts Los Angeles
- Tampere Film Festival
- Newport Beach Film Festival
- International Film Festival Beijing
- International Beirut Outbox Film Festival
- iShorts Film Festival Prague
- International Short Film Festival Postira
- International Lago Film Festival Revine
- Lincoln Film Festival New York
- International Film Festival Xian
- International Short Film Festival Sao Paulo
- Message to Man Int. F.F St.-Petersburg
- Film Festival Open Doek Turnhout
- Int. Jerusalem Open Nights Film Festival
- Mostra CineBH Int. F. Festival Belo Horizonte
- New Media Sichuan Fine Arts F.F. Beijing
- Arab Film Festival Berlin
- Yilmaz Guney Film Festival Istanbul
- New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival
- Chicago International Film Festival

and many more. Almost 100 selections worldwide at the moment.






Critique, questions and comments are welcome

 

[Luca Immesi]

Beautiful. I'd like to watch the whole short film.

 

[Brice Ansel]

It look promising!
Good teaser by the way.

 

[Sidney L. Plaut]

very nice!

 

[Robert Craig]

Love it, I was actually leaning forward in my chair at the end. Impressive :cheers2: cheers mate

 

[Camille Herren]

Very nice, would love to see the whole film! Good luck with it!

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

Thanks for the kind words!

We just got great news. The short is selected for the 'Berlinale - 61st International Film Festival'

 

[Eric.T]

Congratulations for getting in to the berlinale!
would love to see the whole film.

greetings
eric.t

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

The berlinale festival programme is online.

http://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=20114416

If you are going to Berlin and have the time, please consider this movie. :smile5:

The movie is selected for the Generation Kplus Competition where it could win two prices:
-Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film
-Special Prize of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk for the Best Short Film

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

Tomorrow is the awards ceremony. Fingers crossed! :thumbup:

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

We won the international Jury price (Special Prize of the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk) for the Best Short Film at the Generation Kplus competition of the 61st Berlinale!

Below you find what the jury had to say.

A mother sits at the breakfast table and tests a hand-held rocket-launcher. The longing for power is huge.
But things can change quickly and the question remains unanswered – who is the winner?
Through surprising turns and strong images, the filmmakers create a dense and exciting story about the absurdities of a society in which violence and oppression dominate.

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

We just got great news!

'Land of the Heroes' won 'Best Film' and 'Best cinematography' at the 28th Busan international film festival (South-Korea).

Edit: Added picture of the director with the prices.

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

'Land of the Heroes' is playing at the Toronto CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival this week.

http://worldwideshortfilmfest.com/films/land-of-the-heroes/

 

[Steve G]

We just got great news!

'Land of the Heroes' won 'Best Film' and 'Best cinematography' at the 28th Busan international film festival (South-Korea).

Edit: Added picture of the director with the prices.

Congratulations. Would love to see this short in complete form. I filmed in Zakho in 1990/1991, just after the 2nd gulf war, as a student working for an NGO. Kurdistan is an amazing place.

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

Land of the heroes has won the award for 'Best short film' on the 17th edition of the San Gio shortfilmfestival in Verona (Italy).

There is now also a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Land-of-the-heroes/163964617010095

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

Land of the Heroes has won two awards last week:

- Special jury award Human image films competition Baghdad International Film Festival
- 16ORO - Winner of Golden Short Sedicicorto Film Festival Italy

In attachement a picture of Director 'Sahim Omar Kalifa' with his 16ORO price.

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

"Land of the Heroes" has grabbed the Zavattini Award at this year’s edition of the Reggio Film Festival in Emilia, Italy.

The jury praised the film for its problematic on the loneliness of moral uncertainty and its consistent neo-realist style.
The film’s kid actors Ahmed Nisret, Zana Gandi and Adla Bapir were also praised for their perfromances.

The Award is already the seventh kudo for the film this year, after earlier prizes in Berlin, Busan, Verona, Forli and Bagdad. Since its world première at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, the short has been invited by close to 50 festivals around the globe. Upcoming events are Moskou, Buenos Aires and Dubai.

In attachement a picture of Director 'Sahim Omar Kalifa' with the Zavattini award.

 

[Wells Phinny]

Great teaser, definitely got me intrigued. Beautiful footage. Good luck tomorrow!

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

"Land of the Heroes" has grabbed another Award (The Third prize in the Yilmaz Guney Short Film Competition), this time at the 7th edition of the London Kurdish Film Festival which is the biggest Kurdisch film festival in the world, according to the director.

a film which deals with the traumas of conflict and the impact it has not only on children but everyone experiencing war. ‘I am Saddam’ says the little Spiderman hero – and when his sister sulks, he continues ‘you can be Saddam too’. A fine balance between humour and horror made it easy for us to award Land of the Heroes. (excerpt from the Jury)

 

[Kobe Van Steenberghe]

"Land of the Heroes" has grabbed another Jury award (Muhr Arab Short Second Prize), this time at the 8th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival.

Price money: 10.000 Dollars.