MEMORIES ON STONE (Bîranînên li ser kevirî)

After Saddam’s collapse in Iraq, childhood friends HUSSEIN and ALAN decide to produce a film about the Al Anfal Kurdish genocide. But making a film in post-war Kurdistan isn’t easy and reveals itself as an odyssey. The most difficult task of all seems finding the lead actress. But in the moment they think that they will never find her, suddenly SINOR enters the stage: young, beautiful and passionate about the project, since her own childhood is deeply affected by the Al Anfal campaign and by the main location, the old prison where the film will be shot at. But Sinor cannot decide on her own: her cousin HIWA and his father, UNCLE HAMID control her fate. However something seems to be pushing Sinor to play in the film, even as it becomes clear that the only way to achieve this is by a marriage-deal with cousin Hiwa whom she doesn’t love. The shooting starts but behind the scenes the problems never end. As they run out of time and money, Hussein and Alan sacrifice everything to keep filming. But beside all problems on the production side, the main issue remains Hiwa who becomes increasingly jealous and frustrated with Sinor’s devotion to this work, which he still cannot understand. He also feels the pressure of Uncle Hamid, who is blaming Sinor to destroy the family honour. Then, in a tragic twist, Hussein is being shot during the shooting of the final scene. He survives heavily injured but the production is suspended.

Now the biggest question of all arises: Will the film ever reach the screen?