Five years following the infamous chemical and biological bombing of Halabja, Diyari, a Kurdish/American good Samaritan, returns to his homeland to build an orphanage in what is left of Halabja. On the outskirts of the town he meets Jiyan, a ten-year old orphan and a survivor of the chemical attack, doomed to live with a burn scar covering most of her right cheek. A strong bond between the two ensues and later he names his orphanage after her.
During the course of his stay Diyari meets a colorful bunch of townsfolk, many of whom remain physically and/or psychologically marked with the effects of the chemical agents. Among them is Jiyan's only living relative, Shérco, a twelve-year old who has also lost his family to the poison gas. While Shérco dreams of marrying her one day, Jiyan dreams of seeing flowers, a picture of which she finds on the back of a magazine. In addition to building the orphanage Diyari brings a spark of hope and happiness to Shérco's and Jiyan's lives. However, this affair is short lived. As he leaves, the two orphans turn back to their lonely shells with very little light to look forward to - a familiar state of mind echoing throughout the town.
Diyari departs with a promise to return, but now leaving a tearful Jiyan at the place where he first meet her - on a swing under a lonely tree on a small lonely hill.
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Awards
- Winner Special Jury Award ‐ New Director's Showcase, Seattle Int’l Film Festival 2002
- Winner ‐ Best film - International Film Festival Festroia , Setubal, Portugal, 2002.
- Special Mention - In The Spirit of Freedom Award ‐ 19th Jerusalem Film Festival 2002
- Winner - Best film - Rights to Have Rights Film Festival, Modena, Italy, 2003
Festivals
Jiyan has been in the following festivals:
Rotterdam (World Premiere) (Tiger Competition) ◆ Carlovy Vary ◆ Göteberg ◆ London ◆ Pusan (Asian premiere) ◆ Montreal (North American Premiere) ◆ Jerusalem (Special Jury Citation) ◆ Seattle (Special Jury Award) ◆ Method Fest, Burbank, CA ◆ Galway Fleadh, Ireland ◆ Fort Lauderdale, Florida ◆ Fukouka, Japan ◆ Setubal, Portugal (Dolphin Award) ◆ Rio de Janeiro ◆ Warsaw ◆ Philadelphia ◆ New Delhi ◆ Brugge, Belgium ◆ Turnhout, Belgium ◆ Rome ◆ HRW New York ◆ HRW Boston ◆ HRW Guam ◆ The Wales ◆ Prague, Czech Republic ◆ Singapore ◆ Modena, Italy (popular Jury Award) ◆ HRFF Barcelona ◆ Kurdish FF London ◆ Exile FF, Göteborg ◆ Med FF, Roma ◆ Orlando, Florida ◆ Asian FF, Vancouver ◆ Mideast FF, Tokyo ◆ Seoul ◆ Dahka, Bangladesh ◆ Liberty FF, West Hollywood ◆ Balafon FF, Bari, Italy ◆ Kurdish FF, Montreal ◆ Temecula, CA ◆ NYU Kurdish FF, New York
Universities:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St Paul ◆ International House, Philladelphia ◆ ETSU (East Tennessee State University)
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