Kurdistan Film Commission Returns to Cannes With $2 Million Annual Film Fund

The Kurdistan Film Commission returned to the Cannes Film Festival this year and officially unveiled a $2 million annual film fund, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The announcement, made during a Marche du Film event titled 'Owning Our Story' on May 13, is part of a broader push to position the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi region as a destination for international film productions.

The Details

The Kurdistan Film Commission is led by Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Qubad Talabani as president and Bavi Yassin as founder and chair, The Hollywood Reporter reported in both its 2025 and 2026 coverage.

At the Cannes event on May 13, the commission officially unveiled the Kurdistan Film Fund, valued at $2 million per year. Talabani said during the event: 'We want to show the world that despite political differences, despite regional tensions, or war, that cinema can cross those boundaries, that storytelling can unite where politics divides.'

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the commission's mission is to support Kurdish creatives, attract foreign productions to Kurdistan, and establish the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi region as a filming destination.

Yassin told The Hollywood Reporter that Kurdistan is being marketed to filmmakers as a cost-effective location with four seasons, varied landscapes, and stand-in potential for countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Yassin described the pitch to foreign producers as resting on 'the combination of authenticity, access, and cost effectiveness.'

The commission also reported training initiatives over the past year, including a five-day Producers Lab with EAVE and a four-day location-management workshop led by executives from the Location Managers Guild International, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Context

This marks the commission's second year on the global film stage after its debut at Cannes in 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The commission is based in Slemani, also known as Suli, which the publication described as a cultural hotspot in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

In its May 2025 Cannes launch coverage, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the newly launched Kurdistan Film Commission Slemani set goals to bring creatives to Kurdistan, empower Kurdish creatives through training and support, and open the region's stories and locations to filmmakers worldwide.

Because available corroboration is limited to The Hollywood Reporter's reporting and direct source-page verification, claims about funding scale, location advantages, and training scope should be attributed to the publication and commission officials rather than presented as independently audited facts.

What's Next

The commission appears to be building on its 2025 Cannes launch with concrete funding and training infrastructure. The $2 million annual Kurdistan Film Fund and continued presence at the Marche du Film signal an ongoing effort to attract international productions to the region. The training initiatives over the past year, including the EAVE Producers Lab and the Location Managers Guild International workshop, suggest the commission is also investing in local crew capacity alongside its outreach to foreign filmmakers.