A short film by Kurdish filmmakers Saman Hosseinpuor and Ako Zandkarimi, Suitcase tells the story of a Kurdish refugee living far from home, carrying his entire life inside a small suitcase filled with memories, identity, and the fragments of a lost homeland.

The film approaches exile not only as a physical condition but as a permanent emotional state. The suitcase gradually becomes a symbol of home, memory, belonging, and survival. When the suitcase is stolen in the chaos of a foreign city, the protagonist loses the final connection to his past and finds himself displaced once again.

The work relies on restrained visual storytelling and emotional atmosphere, using silence, movement, and visual emptiness to reflect loneliness and uprootedness without direct exposition. Its emotional impact emerges through simplicity and human observation.

The cinematic style of the “Samko Brothers” combines visual minimalism with emotional depth, often focusing on Kurdish identity, migration, and the fragile relationship between memory and place.

At the 4th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival, Yılmaz Güney Second Edition, the film received the Audience Award in recognition of its emotional honesty and its ability to deeply connect with viewers.

Film Information

• Original Title: Suitcase
• Directors: Saman Hosseinpuor & Ako Zandkarimi
• Production Year: 2023
• Country: Kurdistan – Iran
• Duration: 15 min
• Format: Short Film
• Genre: Drama / Human / Refugee

About the Directors: Saman Hosseinpuor & Ako Zandkarimi

Saman Hosseinpuor is a Kurdish filmmaker born in 1993 in Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran). He began his artistic career in theater at the age of 14 before moving into filmmaking in 2008. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Cinema and has directed more than ten short films that received numerous international awards.

Ako Zandkarimi, also born in 1993 in Sanandaj, Kurdistan (Iran), started filmmaking at the age of 15. His films have participated in international festivals and received more than fifty awards worldwide.

Together, they are known as the “Samko Brothers,” a filmmaking duo recognized for their emotionally driven cinematic approach focusing on Kurdish identity, exile, migration, and human memory.

Suitcase received the Audience Award at the 4th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival 2023, Yılmaz Güney Second Edition, following a strong emotional response from audiences to its human-centered portrayal of exile, displacement, and identity.