Kick-off Kirkuk | AKFF

Amsterdam Koerdisch Film Festival

Refugee families live in a beat-up stadium in the city of Kirkuk. Energetic and lovestruck Asu decides to cheer up those close to him by organising a soccer tournament, in which the people forget their races and become close neighbours while trying to overcome the sorrow and consequences of the war.

Inside a beat-up stadium in Kirkuk, many refugees are living, trying to escape Saddam Hussein’s administration. Asu lives with his younger brother who has lost his legs from a landmine. Next door lives Hilin, who has been unable to express her feelings. One of the only sources of happiness for these people who live amid fear of poverty and bombings is soccer. Asu gathers together the different ethnic communities of Kirkuk to hold a soccer match. Although they are of different ethnicities, they become close neighbours.

Afterwards there will be a Q&A with the director of the movie: Shawkat Amin Korki