Iraq Selects Kurdish Sniper Drama for Oscars — SkimNews
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- No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman was selected as Iraq’s Best International Feature Oscar submission and is Halkawt Mustafa’s third fiction feature.
- Vyan, a 24-year-old Norwegian-based Kurdish visitor, escaped Islamic State captivity after her parents were murdered, killed her buyer and joined an elite unit of female Peshmerga snipers.
- Vyan is depicted as having killed more than 100 enemy fighters in three years, prompting Islamic State to place a $1 million bounty on her.
- Helin remains trapped in Mosul with an Islamic State fighter called the Swedish sniper, sending Vyan to prepare for a final rescue mission.
- Halkawt Mustafa drew on research for his 2015 television project “The Women ISIS Fears” and his experience as a war photographer, and dedicated the film to his daughters.
- Sony/Empire acquired distribution rights in MENA territories, where the review argues regional and Kurdish-diaspora audiences should appreciate the film’s visual and technical craftsmanship despite its potential split with Western genre and arthouse viewers.
Why it matters: For Iraq, the submission puts a Kurdish female Peshmerga’s fight against IS into the Best International Feature Oscar field, centered on Vyan’s more than 100 kills in three years and a $1 million bounty. Sony/Empire’s MENA rights connect the film to the regional and Kurdish-diaspora audience most directly aligned with its customs and visual craft.
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