A short film by Kurdish filmmaker Dana Karim, The Wind Girl tells the story of an elderly couple living on an isolated farm whose quiet daily life is disrupted after discovering human bone remains buried beneath their land.

The film approaches the memory of the Kurdish civil war through silence, atmosphere, and emotional observation rather than direct political confrontation. The discovered bones gradually become symbols of unresolved grief, forgotten victims, and the burden of collective memory.

Using restrained pacing and minimal dialogue, the film creates a contemplative cinematic space where nature, silence, and physical space reflect emotional trauma and unresolved history. The wife’s refusal to bury the bones transforms the story into an intimate moral and psychological conflict about memory, dignity, and loss.

Dana Karim’s directing style relies on visual simplicity and emotional realism, focusing on subtle human behavior and quiet emotional tension without relying on melodrama or direct exposition.

At the 4th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival, Yılmaz Güney Second Edition, the film received the Best Kurdish Film Award in recognition of its emotional sensitivity and its cinematic reflection on Kurdish memory and identity.

Film Information

• Original Title: The Wind Girl
• Director: Dana Karim
• Production Year: 2022
• Country: Kurdistan – Iraq
• Duration: 15 min
• Format: Short Film
• Genre: Drama / Human

About the Director: Dana Karim

Dana Karim is a Kurdish filmmaker, writer, and theater director born in Sulaymaniyah in 1973. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts – Theater Department, and later from the University of Sulaymaniyah – Department of English Language and Literature.

He began his artistic career in theater during the late 1980s before moving into documentary and short filmmaking. His films have been screened at numerous international festivals and received several awards, including Best Film and Best Screenplay.

His cinematic work is known for its humanistic perspective, visual restraint, and its focus on memory, identity, and contemporary Kurdish experiences.