21 Days to Nawroz – Documentary Film

ABOUT THE FILM

Kurdistan, “The Other Iraq”, has been held up as a shining example of peace in the Middle East since US sanctioned protections were put in place in 1992, but how has this experimental democracy really affected women?

21 DAYS TO NAWROZ is a documentary feature explores the lives of three very different Kurdish women as they prepare for the ancient New Year feast by reckoning with the past and looking to the future.

PLATINUM REMI – BEST DOCUMENTARY – World Fest Houston

BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY – Baghdad International Film Festival

SILVER PALM – BEST DOCUMENTARY – Mexico International Film Festival

GOLDEN EAGLE – BEST DOCUMENTARY – CINE International, Los Angeles

BEST IN SHOW – DOCUMENTARY – Accolade Competition, Los Angeles

WINNER

PLATINUM REMI – BEST DOCUMENTARY

World Fest Houston

RAZAW, ALWAN & BANAZ

Razaw is a feminist lawyer that defends women who are victims of honour crimes. She knows her work is vital, but she desperately wants to protect daughter from the restrictive culture she herself has been fighting with her whole life. Should she stay and continue her important work, or leave to seek a free life in the west?

Alwan was an 8 year-old girl who lost everything and witnessed unspeakable horrors when Saddam Hussein dropped a chemical bomb on the city of Halabja in 1988, killing 5000 Kurds instantly. The 20^th anniversary of the tragedy is here, and she must play host to dozens of visiting dignitaries, all the while harboring resentment at the corruption and greed that have left these victims living an impoverished existence in rubble. Who is to blame?

Banaz is a tech-savvy 18-year-old girl who came of age post-Saddam, and is brimming with optimism. After studying hard and securing a scholarship to the American University, Banaz wants to seize the day. Unlike her pessimistic peers – she hopes desperately to stay in Iraq and make Kurdistan a better place, but she can’t seem to rally support. Can one young girl make a difference?

WINNER

BEST IN SHOW – DOCUMENTARY

Accolade Film Competition – Los Angeles

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

MICHELLE MAMA is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and veteran factual producer/director with over 250 of hours of television under her belt.

She is a fiercely creative television professional known for her outside-the-box storytelling and her tenacity in delivering the best in factual entertainment. As a director she has the ability to disarm subjects and generate true intimacy with her subjects and as a producer she collaborates to inspire and extract extraordinary work from her team. With a well-worn passport and the confidence of experience, she is as comfortable in a studio control room as she is on location in a war-torn country.

Now based in NYC, Michelle is showrunning a prime-time documentary series about groundbreaking artists for CBC and producing a scripted series adaptation of a critically acclaimed novel.

Michelle is represented by Mark Turner at Abrams Artists Agency, NYC.

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