Kurdwin Ayub
Kurdwin Ayub | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Ayub in 2020 | |
| Born | 1990 (age 35–36) |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter, performance artist |
Kurdwin Ayub (Kurdish: Kurdvîn Eyûb; born 1990) is a Kurdish-Austrian filmmaker and artist based in Vienna. Her fiction feature debut Sonne (Sun) won the Best First Feature Award at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Ayub was born to Kurdish parents in Duhok, Iraq; her family came to Austria as refugees when she was a child.[3] She was educated in Vienna, studying painting and animation at the University of Applied Arts and studying performance art at the city's Academy of Fine Arts.[4]
Career
[edit]Ayub began directing short films in 2009 and was awarded the MehrWERT Short Film Award at the Vienna International Film Festival in 2011 and 2012.[4][5]
Paradies! Paradies! (Paradise! Paradise!), Ayub's feature-length directorial debut, followed her father Omar as he visited Kurdish relatives in Duhok after fleeing the city in 1991. The documentary screened at the 2016 Diagonale Film Festival, where Ayub was awarded the Best Camera prize.[6] Her 2018 short film Boomerang was awarded the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Max Ophüls Film Festival in 2019.[4]
In 2022, Ayub's full-length fiction debut Sonne (Sun), about three girls who film a music video while wearing burqas, received the Best First Film Award at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. The film was nominated for the European Discovery of the Year at the 35th European Film Awards.[7]
Mond (Moon), Ayub's 2024 fiction feature about a former martial artist who travels to Jordan to train the daughters of a wealthy family, premiered in the international competition at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Leopard. The film won the Special Jury Prize, the Europa Cinemas Label and the Boccalino d'Oro, and received a special mention from the Ecumenical Jury.[8]
Her films have been discussed in relation to migration, feminism and the rejection of racialized victim narratives.[9]
She is regarded as a representative of the Austrian New Wave.[10]
Filmography
[edit]Feature films
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Paradise! Paradise! | Paradies! Paradies! | [6] |
| 2022 | Sun | Sonne | [3] |
| 2024 | Moon | Mond | [3] |
Short films
[edit]| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mutterkindpass | [5] |
| 2010 | Kaiserschnitt | [5] |
| Homevideo | [5] | |
| Die Intrige und die Archenmuscheln | [11] | |
| 2011 | Schneiderei | [11] |
| Sommerurlaub | [11] | |
| Katzenjammer | [11] | |
| 2012 | Familienurlaub | [11] |
| 2013 | sexy | [11] |
| 2014 | VIDEO 1 | [11] |
| 2018 | Affection von Violet Spin | [11] |
| Boomerang | [11] | |
| Armageddon | [11] | |
| 2019 | pretty-pretty | [11] |
| 2020 | LOLOLOL | [11] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Diagonale Film Festival | Best Camera | Paradies! Paradies! (Paradise! Paradise!) | Won | [5] |
| 2019 | Max Ophüls Film Festival | Jury Prize for Best Short Film | Boomerang | Won | [4] |
| 2022 | Berlin International Film Festival | Best First Film Award | Sonne (Sun) | Won | [2] |
| European Film Awards | European Discovery of the Year | Nominated | [7] | ||
| 2024 | Locarno Film Festival | Golden Leopard | Mond (Moon) | Nominated | [3] |
| Special Jury Prize | Won | [12] |
References
[edit]- ^ Koch, Michelle. "Who's That Girl". www.cinemanext.at. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ a b Roxborough, Scott. "Berlin: 'Alcarras' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Szalai, Georg. "Iraq-Born Austrian Auteur Kurdwin Ayub Keeps It Provocative With 'Moon': "I Want to Trigger People"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Kurdwin Ayub". Cercamon World Sales. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Kurdwin Ayub". Vienalle. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Paradies! Paradies!". Austrian Films. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b Barraclough, Leo. "Locarno Competition Title 'Moon,' About Martial Arts Fighter on 'Unsettling' Assignment in Jordan, Debuts Teaser (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (17 August 2024). "Lithuanian Teen Drama 'Toxic' Wins Big at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "»Ich möchte alles sein – aber kein Opfer«". Jacobin.de. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
- ^ "Die New Wave des österreichischen Kinos: Florian Pochlatko im FM4 Filmpodcast", ORF FM4; 22 September 2025
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Kurdwin Ayub". Six Pack Film. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ "Locarno77: The Pardo d'Oro goes to Akiplėša (Toxic) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, a striking vision of the teenage female body as a battleground". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- Kurdwin Ayub at IMDb