An aspiring actress in Iraqi Kurdistan reconciles her dreams with the surrounding reality.

Interview with Director, Producer, Editor, Camera Person Emma Piper-Burket

Congratulations! Why did you make this film?

I have spent a lot of time in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2009, my experiences there have always been very different from the Kurdistan you see on the news, I wanted to make something that shares a more intimate and familiar experience of a place that is often only depicted from extremes. My friend Diana is from there, she wants to be an actress, so I wanted to give her a chance to be in front of the camera - we decided to make a film together.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch?

Watch it to share space and time with someone who is living far away from you with a life very different from your own. Be in that space with her (and me) for a little while - cinema is about escape, but also about helping to unlock new perspectives understanding within yourself and your world.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

That's a big part of what this film is about, sharing the universality of the human experience from a very personal and intimate point of view.

How did the film evolve over the course of its production?

When we started out, it was going to be part documentary and part fiction, the first filming trip in 2014 was going to be "real life" and then I was to return a year later to film Diana's hopes and fears for the future. But when I returned to Kurdistan in 2015, after ISIS invaded nearby and the country was in deep economic hardship, that fiction part felt irrelevant and the film took a different course, it became about being present in that space with her during that specific time.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

This will be its first public screening, but I have gotten really positive responses from the few people who have seen it so far privately.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

When you make something, especially something like this that is so intimate, it's a gift to be able to share that with the outside world - I'm so grateful when another person sits and watches this film. The production was just me and Diana, sometimes her mom and a couple other people you see, and then the editing was just me again, occasionally showing it to people for feedback - so it's very much a private personal world, sharing it is the next stage of the journey.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I don't like the "othering" that occurs in the media - it's dangerous to not realize that normal life exists everywhere. Anything that keeps people from separating themselves from other people and other places is good, so I hope this film does that.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I just finished and am now developing my first feature script. And I am also editing a documentary about archaeology and agriculture in Iraq that I've been filming since 2009.

Interview: November 2016

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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DREAM CITY

An aspiring actress in Iraqi Kurdistan reconciles her dreams with the surrounding reality.

Length: 52 minutes

Director, Producer, Editor, Camera: Emma Piper-Burket

About the writer, director and producer:

Emma Piper-Burket is a filmmaker, writer and researcher based between New York City and rural Oregon. She works in fiction, non-fiction, and collected media; mixing Super8 and 16mm film with digital forms. She holds an MFA in Cinema and Digital Media from FAMU in Prague, and a BA in Arabic and Classical Studies from Georgetown University.

Key cast: Diana Jaf

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): all of the above, (producer for next project!)

Funders: low/no budget

Made in association with: FAMU

Release date: 11/20/16