Kejal

Nima Salehyiar : 2018

Kejal, a young Kurdish woman studying at Tehran returns home when her brother is killed in the mountains, leaving behind debts for lost goods. Forced by circumstance, Kejal becomes a kulbar – a woman in a men's world, a world where a woman aspiring towards independence has to be particularly strong. Risking their life, kulbars climb on narrow mountain paths every day, carrying 40kg of goods on their back. Every mistaken step may chance upon a landmine. The Iranian authorities regard them as smugglers and they are hunted like wild animals. The extremely poor Kurds regard it as a traditional profession which keeps families fed and alive. They do not regard it as crossing the Iran-Iraq border – for them, it is all Kurdistan. Nima Salehyiar's feature debut premiered in the First Feature Competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2018.