“Welcoming Death” Brings the Sinjar Tragedy to Denmark, While Receiving a Warm Reception in Zakho and Domiz

The documentary film Welcoming Death, directed by Nasrin Abidin, has been officially selected to participate in the Nordic International Film Festival in Denmark, while screenings are taking place in Zakho and preparations are underway for a screening at Domiz Camp. The film aims to bring the voices of victims of ISIS’s war crimes and the Sinjar genocide to the attention of the international film community.

According to an official decision by the Nordic Film Festival’s organising committee, the film is scheduled to be screened on 20–21 November 2026 in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

This international milestone comes alongside local screenings. On 14 October 2026, a special screening was organised at Zakho City Hall under the supervision of the Directorate of Culture and the Artists’ Syndicate. The film received a warm welcome from cultural figures, war-wounded individuals and the families of martyrs. Meanwhile, a screening is also scheduled for next Wednesday at Domiz Camp, for displaced people from Western Kurdistan and Peshmerga forces.

In an interview with the Kurdistan Diaspora Confederation’s website, director Nasrin Abidin explained that the film comprises seven interconnected stories and draws on a field archive to highlight the human consequences of ISIS’s 2014 offensive against Southern Kurdistan, particularly the tragedy of Sinjar.

The film features real-life individuals, including Brigade Commander Yahya Silki, a Swiss humanitarian volunteer, Western Kurdistan Peshmerga fighters, and the families of martyrs and people wounded in the war.

Nasrin also stated that the film was produced in collaboration with Amed Films, with support from the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Zerevani Peshmerga Command. It has previously been screened at film festivals in Duhok, Nigeria, Germany and the United States, where it has also received awards.

She added that the project forms part of a broader effort to document the historical record of crimes committed against the Kurdish people and the Yazidi community, with the aim of ensuring that these atrocities are recognised internationally as genocide through the art of cinema.