Director · Born 1964, Akre, Güney Kürdistan (Irak)
Hiner Saleem
An Akre-born director living in Paris who tells of exile, Kurdistan and love somewhere between sorrow and comedy.
- 7
- films in the guide
- 1998–2022
- years
Born in Akre in Iraqi Kurdistan, he left Iraq at 17, studied in Italy and settled in France. In 1992 he secretly filmed the living conditions of Iraqi Kurds, footage shown in Venice. His first feature, Vive la mariée… et la libération du Kurdistan (1998), was followed by Vodka Lemon, Kilomètre Zéro, Dol, If You Die, I’ll Kill You, My Sweet Pepper Land and Goodnight Soldier, where absurd humour, exile and the weight of tradition sit side by side.
Sources and information · 17.10.2026
Work details are based on the sources below. Recommendation and selection texts are Bîr Culture editorial assessments.
Image: Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
