Photo by Elsa Okazaki
Kurdwin Ayub, born in 1990 in Iraq, is a director, screenwriter, and artist. She studied painting and animated film at the University of Applied Arts as well as performative arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Since 2010, her performative works, animated films, music videos, as well as documentary and feature films in both short and long formats, have been presented at numerous film festivals and exhibitions worldwide and have received many awards.
Her first feature-length film, the documentary "PARADISE! PARADISE!", in which Ayub directed, wrote the screenplay, and handled the cinematography, was shown at international film festivals and received awards including the New Waves Non-Fiction Award at the Seville European Film Festival 2016 and the Carte Blanche Nachwuchspreis at the Duisburg Film Week 2016. Her first fiction feature film "SONNE" premiered in 2022 in the Encounters competition section at the Berlinale and was awarded the Best First Feature Award. Additionally, the film was nominated for the European Discovery Award at the 35th European Film Awards. Her second fiction feature film "MOON," starring Florentina Holzinger and Andria Tayeh in the lead roles, had its world premiere in 2024 in the competition at the Locarno Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize.
Photo by Yasmina Haddad
Filmography:
fiction, documentary, animation
2024 MOND / fiction feature / Production: Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion / International Sales: Bendita Film Sales (Festivals among others: 77. Locarno Filmfestival Competition - Winner Special Jury Prize)
2022 SONNE / fiction feature/ Production: Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion / International Sales: Cercamon (Festivals among others: 72. Berlinale Filmfestival 2020 competitive Section Encounters - Winner GWFF Best First Feature Award, Diagonale 2022 Opening Film)
2020 LOLOLOL / documentary short (Festivals among others: CPH:DOX 2020)
2019 PRETTY-PRETTY / trailer for slash Filmfestival
2018 ARMAGEDDON / animation short
2018 BOOMERANG / fiction short film / Production: WildartFilm (Festivals among others: Max Ophüls Preis 2019 - Winner Best Short Film, Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers 2019)
2016 PARADIES! PARADIES! / documentary feature / Production: Rudi Takacs (Festivals among others: Diagonale 2016 - Winner Beste Bildgestaltung Dokumentarfilm), BAFICI 2016, Duisburger Filmwoche 2016 - Winner Carte Blanche Nachwuchspreis, Leipzig Int. Festival für Dok.- u. Animationsfilm 2016, Sevilla - Festival del Cine Europeo 2016 - Winner New Waves Non Fiction Award)
2012 FAMILIENURLAUB / documentary short film
2011 LANGSAM REITEN COWBOY / animation short film
2010 INTRIGE UND DIE ARCHENMUSCHELN / animation short film
music videos
2022 HODENLOS AN DIE MACHT - HYÄNE FISCHER
2021 ALIVE - ANTHEA
2021 LIBERATE YOU - BAITS
2019 LIKE LUCIFER - GO! GO! GORILLA
2018 IM RAUSCH DER ZEIT - HYÄNE FISCHER
2018 AFFECTION
performance videos
2014 VIDEO 1
2013 SEXY (Festivals among others: FIDMarseille 2014, Nashville Film Festival 2015, Rotterdam Int. Filmfestival 2015)
2012 KATZENHIMMEL
2011 ADELE 1 (Festivals among others: Los Angeles - AFI American Film Institute Festival 2012)
2011 SCHNEIDEREI
2011 KATZENJAMMER
2011 SOMMERURLAUB