From Kurdistan to America: Establishing Cultural Bridges between Kurds & Americans
From Kurdistan to America: Establishing Cultural Bridges between Kurds & Americans”
June 29 and 30, 2010
House of Sweden
2900 K Street NW
Washington, DC
Festival Program
Day 1
Tuesday
June 29
12:00-2:00PM
•
Opening Ceremony with Lunch Catered by Levante’s Restaurant
o
Opening Remarks by Qubad Talabani, KRG Representative to the U.S.
o
Bedirxan March Song. Lyrics: Jamal Abdul, Music: Anwer Qeredaghi.
o
An introduction to the Bedirxan’s by Ms. Sinem Khan Jeladet Ali-Bedirxan
and Mr. Hamid Bedirxan
o
Documentary Film “Bedirxan & the Bedirxanis” Producer: Sattar M. Ameen
o
Documentary Film “Mohammed Mehdi Al-Jawahiri” Producer: Sattar M.
Ameen
o
Documentary Film “This is Kurdistan” Produced and Directed by Hawraz
Muhammad
Kurdish Art and Literature Exhibitions on display throughout the two-day festival
2:00-3:00 PM Panel 1: Language and Literature in Kurdistan
• Moderator: Dr. Ismael Mohammedfahmi Saeed
• Dr. Azad Hamad Sharif – The impact of Kurdish history on literature- drawing comparisons
from Jean Sasson’s Love in a Torn Land
o
Dr. Sharif is a senior lecturer of English and American literature at the
University of Salahadin.
• Jean Sasson – Kurdistan and Love in a Torn Land
o
Jean Sasson is an American author who has written extensively about women
in the Middle East.
• Dr. Ismael Mohammedfahmi Qaradaghi – The influence of American literature on
Kurdish literature
o
Dr. Qaradaghi is an assistant professor of literature at the University of
Salahadin.
Question and Answer Session
Coffee / Tea Break
3:15-4:15PM Panel 2: Culture, Art, and Women
• Moderator: Ms. Sinem Khan Jeladet Bedirxan
• Shahla Taheer Al-Haydari
o
Shahla Haydari is a researcher in history from Baghdad.
• Behar Mustafa (Sweden)
o
Behar Mustafa is a sociologist from Sulaimani.
• Mrs. Taman Shaker (Germany)
• Question and Answer Session
Coffee / Tea Break
4:30-5:30PM Panel 3: The History of Kurds in Kirkuk
• Moderator: Dr. Ismael Qaradaghi
• Dr. Kemal Mezher Ahmed – Some Notes on Kirkuk and Adjacent Areas along with the
screening of a documentary film, “ Kirkuk”
o
Dr. Ahmed is a writer, translator, and a member of the Kurdish Academy of
Language.
• Dr. Cebar Qader (Holland) – Kirkuk’s Ethnic Mosaic
o
Dr. Qader is a consultant to the Prime Minister Dr. Barham Salih for higher
education.
• Dr. Ako Shwani – History of the Kurdish People
o
Dr. Shwani is a professor at Sulaimani University.
• Question and Answer Session
Coffee / Tea Break
5:45-7:00PM
•
Screening of “Herman“ a Kurdish feature film directed by Hassan Hussein,
produced by the Ministry of Culture & Youth
o
Two lovers, Herman and Adar, are separated by the Iraqi government’s Anfal
campaign that massacred and suppressed the Kurdish people. While Herman
struggles to find Adar, she must deal with the realities of being unmarried and
pregnant and the implications to her family’s honor.
Day 2
Wednesday
June 30
th
, 2010
1:00-1:15PM
•
Introductory remarks by Najat Abdullah, Director of Art and Culture
•
Traditional dancing by a Virginia based Kurdish dance group
Coffee/ Tea Break
1:30-3:00PM Panel 4: Cultural Identity and the Kurdish People
• Moderator: Dr. Azad Hamad Sharif.
• Atta Faeq – The impact of other cultures on Kurdish culture
o
Mr. Faeq is a writer, intellectual and English language specialist.
• Dr. Sarwar Abdullah (Germany) – The trajectory of Kurdish cultural identity
o
Dr. Abdullah has a Ph.D. in Arabic literature and literary criticism.
•
Hashmi Ahmedzade (Britain) – Four Narrations and an “Imagined Community”
o
Mr Ahmedzade is an instructor at Exeter University.
• Dr. Narmin Ali – Archaeology in Kurdistan
o
Dr. Ali is a professor of archaeology at the University of Salahadin specializing
in the preservation of historical sites.
• Question and Answer Session
Coffee/ Tea Break
3:15-4:15PM Panel 5: Kurdish Film
• Hawraz Mohammed Hama Rasheed – The Kurds and Cinema
o
Mr. Rasheed is a director of short films and documentaries.
• Kurdish Documentary Short Film Presentation.
o
These short films are on various topics concerning Kurdistan and the Kurdish
people.
Coffee/ Tea Break
4:30- 5:00 PM
• “Mom” A Monodrama by Sarkaut Taro
o
Mr. Taro has been acting and performing for over 30 years and has directed two
films, “Qaraj” (1991) and “ Zamely Garmyan” (1994).
5:00-6:00PM
• “Winterland” A short film by Hisham Zamani
The director humorously depicts the story of Renas, a Kurdish refugee who lives in a remote are in Northern Norway. He has everything he wants, but deeply misses a woman.
6:00-7:00 PM Dinner Catered by Levante’s Restaurant
7:00-9:00 PM Closing Ceremony and Reception
o
Remarks by Mr. Hameed Bedirxan, Director General of Bedirxan Publishing
House
o
Poetry Recitation by Qubadi Jali Zade, Dilshad Abdullah and a Sami Hadi
poem read by Dr. Ismael Qaradaghi
o
Distribution of the Bedirxan Festival Award.
o
Closing Remarks by Qubad Talabani
Live Music Performance by a Kurdish youth band
Tagged in: culture festivals, Kurdish culture, Kurdistan Washington DC, Washington DC culture
