Choosing Freedom with Dilpak Megeed
On a quiet weeknight at a restaurant in Erbil, Dilpak Megeed greets me with her simple and elegant character. We spend a warm summer’s evening talking about women in the Kurdistan Region, cinema, and the problem of freedom.
Megeed is a Yazidi Kurdish director from the Sharya town of Duhok. Despite the obstacles in her path, she is a resolute filmmaker whose captivating energy helped her to forge a successful career in the film industry.
We begin the evening with some opening remarks before diving right into comments about the state of women's lives in the Region today. Megeed has worked in the media for six years. She started out in journalism after receiving approval from her parents for her degree in chemistry, but she quickly moved into filmmaking. She states her name, and age, and highlights the challenges of becoming a professional filmmaker before discussing the dearth of Kurdish women in the region's film industry.
Being a media graduate and having joined the large male-dominated sector, I am always eager to find Kurdish women in the profession to look up to. Men in the field have brought Kurdish to the attention of the world of film, but the experiences of Kurdish women remain obscure, confined to a little world that only those who are impacted know about. Kurdish women are as holy and deserving of recognition for their lives, memories, and emotions. For this reason, I was quite explicit in my desire for Megeed to write about the sacred stories that her vision transforms into movies.
“For myself, I found freedom within filming. You can be free in telling stories,” she replies, brushing away her curls. A recurring theme in her work is freedom. Early in her career, Megeed made the decision that the central theme of her work would be women embracing freedom, particularly women choosing freedom over men or ideas that condemn them to a life of cruelty.
Her first film, Gado, was about a young Yazidi girl from Shingal who is captured by a middle-aged Islamic State member and imprisoned in a sheep's shelter until she becomes an Islamic convert. The story revolves around the girl’s cleverness in learning the Quran and Islamic laws in order to obtain her freedom rather than taking a political or religious stance.
Megeed has had to depend mostly on foreign organizations and international funding to master the trade of filmmaking and finance her work since the Kurdistan Region lacks a movie industry and academy. She learned the ins and outs of film production and editing techniques via NGO workshops. She works as a costume designer for feature films and TV series in addition to directing and producing mini-documentaries for NGOs and television. Apart from directing, she takes on jobs to help fundraise for upcoming projects and as a teaching tool. She was preparing to go to Washington to take part in a filmmaker's exchange program when we met.
Dilpak and the ‘Gado’ film crew in Shariya, Duhok. Photo: Jonathan Smit
Her narratives revolve around two main themes: nature and women. Her newest feature documentary, My Mother and I, is about a mother and daughter who fled their village in the 1950s and relocated to a shelter on a mountain with sheep for the rest of their life. In particular, the daughter lived there for most of her childhood. Megeed has always had a strong bond with animals. She became a vegetarian because she always felt a connection with farm animals and discovered that ladies and farmed herds share a unique relationship. Her first short film was set in a sheep shelter where the characters were trying to find independence. She characterises her bond with the animal as being "in love."
Dilpak in action directing ‘Gado’. Photo: Jonathan Smit
“I am a friend of nature and the environment, and I believe in one film you can communicate more than one message,” she says.
The documentary eageed is currently working on is an entirely personal endeavour, portraying the tale of a mother and daughter who fled their society and family. The only people who are assisting her are a couple from New Zealand who work for NGOs and charities in Duhok and have their own tools. They offered their time to make the documentary.
“My mother warned me about the women, and said that they will completely kick me out, but when I first entered their home I realised what I saw was different from what people said about them,” said Mageed.
She related to the two women since they were also animal lovers and had experienced the injustices society inflicts on Kurdish women. Megeed has been working on the project for more than a year, and she plans to finish it by 2026.
Her works' plotlines revolve around Kurdish women and their independence, which remains her primary emphasis. Megeed has been compelled to tell stories due to the societal restrictions placed on women in the area; she is used to meeting the expectations of her family. She says it is an unavoidable loss for any hardworking woman in the profession, saying, "I have disappointed many of my family members for my passion for the film, many I don't talk with like before."
We capped up the evening with personal tales of recurring difficulties, more drinks, and anecdotes from her career. She had a kind and reassuring vibe, making her an excellent choice to write a story about a Kurdish lady.
