Imphal, Dec 8: Renowned film critic Meghachandra Kongbam has been appointed as a member of the FIPRESCI International Jury for the 12th Duhok International Film Festival 2025, scheduled to take place from December 9 to 16 in Duhok, situated in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region of Iraq. He departed Imphal on Monday to attend the festival.
Kongbam will serve on the three-member jury alongside Olivia Popp of Germany and Dr. Kovan Hussein Saado of Kurdistan. The panel will select the recipient of the prestigious International Critics’ FIPRESCI Prize, one of the key honours of the festival.
Recognised as one of the most significant cultural and cinematic events in the Middle East, the Duhok International Film Festival showcases acclaimed films from across the globe, with a particular emphasis on Kurdish culture, language, identity and lived social realities. The festival operates under a strong humanistic ethos: “Together, we can serve the art of cinema, cultivate a culture free from violence, war and suffering, and deliver a unified human message to the world.”
Speaking about his assignment, Kongbam said, “With my deep interest in political cinema, I am excited to be part of the Duhok International Film Festival. I look forward to learning more about the experiences of the stateless Kurdish people, their rich cultural identity and the social injustices they have faced in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.”
Festival authorities, reflecting on their journey, observed: “Success begins with a decision and a decisive first step. As Kurds—especially those from Southern Kurdistan—our long history of oppression and violence initially delayed our use of cinema as a powerful medium of expression. Today, we are effectively using cinema to convey our message of humanity and to share our history of sacrifice with the world.”
About the Jury Members Olivia Popp is a film critic, writer and programmer currently pursuing an MA in Global Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin. She writes primarily for Cineuropa, where she also coordinates the outlet’s Go Critic! emerging critics’ workshop. She contributes to the editorial team at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and programmes for the One World Slovakia Documentary Film Festival.
Dr. Kovan Hussein Saado has over two decades of experience in media as a television producer, news editor, presenter and film critic. Since 2014, he has taught film theory, visual culture and media genres at the University of Silêmanî. His research focuses on media representation, identity in cinema, Kurdish media discourse and cross-cultural film reception.
Meghachandra Kongbam is a distinguished film critic, academician and activist based in Imphal and Delhi. He received the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film Critic at the 63rd National Film Awards in 2015. A postgraduate in Journalism from Banaras Hindu University and an alumnus of the FTII Pune film appreciation course, he has written on cinema for over four decades. He serves as an Executive Member of FIPRESCI-India, is the President of the Film Society of Manipur, and has been on numerous international film festival juries. He authored the book “Manipuri Cinema” in 2021.