No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman Iraq Oscar pick
Iraq has selected No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman from Norwegian-Kurdish director Halkawt Mustafa as its official submission for the 2027 Oscar race in the Best International Feature category. The film was the unanimous pick of Iraq’s official National Selection Committee for the Academy Awards, mandated by the state ministry of culture. The film follows Vyan, a Kurdish sniper who has survived war by suppressing her emotions. When she learns that her younger sister, missing since the ISIS assault in 2014, may still be alive, she returns to Mosul, determined to rescue her. Avan Jamal (The Exam) stars as Vyan, alongside Norwegian actor Thorbjørn Harr. The main cast also includes Kanar Sarchl and Kader Jalal. Mustafa, who was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and fled to Norway as a child, said the film was inspired by his encounter with a female Peshmerga sniper during the 2014 frontline battles, as female Kurdish fighters countered Islamic State attacks. The director’s previous films include Hiding Saddam Hussein, a documentary about the farmer who hid the Iraqi …
