A Different Perspective (2025, Short Film) – Director of photography
Mystery | Psychology Short Film (2025) Written By Roza Shexani and Directed By Sharo Shorsh, winning Nuhat Program grant award from Duhok International Film Festival.
Halkawt sees three Different stories in one night, when the day breaks, no story exists!
Yazidi Community Archive (2025) – Photographer & Filmmaker & Archivist
In 2025, I worked on Yazidi Community Archive, a project by Hawar.help in partnership with elbarlament. The initiative aims to document and preserve Yazidi heritage, oral history, and personal memories beyond the 2014 genocide. Through the collection of photos, recordings, and family archives, it connects personal narratives with professional documentation to build a shared memory of the Yazidi people.
I contributed as a photographer, filmmaker, and archivist, helping capture stories and materials that reflect the community’s strength and identity. The project also included exhibitions in Berlin, Germany and Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, organized by Hawar.help, showcasing the cultural strength and memory of the Yazidi community.
Ruptured Atlas (2024) – Researcher
Ruptured Atlas is a trauma-informed storytelling project mapping Yazidi life before, during, and after the 2014 genocide. It documents displacement, survival, and return through immersive mapping, visuals, sound, and narratives co-created with 15 Yazidi researchers. The project ran from December 2023 to December 2024 and is part of the AHRC Impact Accelerator Fellowship program.
It partners with Sinjar Academy, Yazda Iraq, IOM Iraq, and the LSE Middle East Centre. I contributed as a photographer and storyteller, documenting my own experiences and reflections before, during, and after the genocide, while capturing visuals and supporting the project’s narrative mapping. The work helps reclaim spatial memory and gives voice to Yazidi experiences of loss, resilience, and hope.
Preserving Cultural Heritage (2024, Cultural Week ) Filmmaker & Archivist
As part of our deep interest in music and its active role in preserving cultural heritage, we worked at the Mirzo Music on a project to archive ten old Shingali songs and folk tales.
The goal was to preserve the oral heritage of the Shingal people, who have long relied on collective memory to document their history.
Felt: Unveiling an Endangered Craft (2023, Short Documentary) – Camera Operator
The aim of this Film/project is to document the non-woven technique of felt-making from wool by the few remaining practicing felt-makers in Southern Kurdistan, in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. Felt is considered to be one of the earliest forms of textile. In the past, felt was a very significant fabric of society, particularly in the Fertile Crescent, Anatolia and Central Asia. It was part of everyday life as well as being used during rituals and ceremonies. Likewise, for the people of Kurdistan, felt was widely used until the mid 1970s; they continued their ancestral tradition and persisted to make and use felt.
The traditional method of felt-making and the use of felt garments are still alive among the people of Kurdistan along the Zagros Mountains, but are disappearing due to conflict and political unrest in the region as well as rapid changes in the textile and fashion industries. Despite the historical and cultural significance of felt, there has been a lack of scholarly attention paid to this historical craft in the region.
Sinjar Film Foundation (2023 – Present) – Founder & Director
Filmmaking began for me as a way to heal and express what words could not. In 2019, I created my first short film “Lonely Hands”, which opened a new path toward storytelling through cinema. Over time, this passion grew into a vision to build a creative space for young people in Sinjar who share the same love for film and culture. From this vision, the Sinjar Film was born—an initiative that brings together photographers, filmmakers, and storytellers to document local life and preserve our heritage through moving images. What began as small gatherings soon evolved into a vibrant film community.
By mid-2023, we launched the Cinema Club, starting with online sessions and later organizing live screenings at the House of Coexistence in Sinuni and Mirzo Music Center in Khanasor. The project became more than a platform for films; it became a way to reconnect with identity and memory after years of loss. Through the Sinjar Film Foundation, we use cinema as a tool for healing, dialogue, and cultural revival, giving voice to stories that reflect the heart and resilience of Sinjar and this region.