SLEMANI — Kurdish filmmaker Twana Ali has produced a short film titled “Waiting,” a silent psychological and social drama exploring the emotions, anxiety and uncertainty experienced by a person waiting for a loved one.
Ali directed and edited the film himself, shooting it entirely on a mobile phone at Dukan Lake in the Kurdistan Region. The film features only one actor and deliberately leaves the identity and gender of the person being awaited unclear.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, August 20, Ali said the film was made using a simple production approach while focusing on the psychological state of its central character.
“I directed and edited the short film ‘Waiting’ myself. This film was shot in a simple manner using a mobile phone at Dukan Lake. Within the framework of psychological and social drama, it narrates a person’s feeling of waiting for a beloved one,” Ali said.
According to the director, the film does not reveal whether the character is waiting for a woman or a man, leaving the interpretation to the audience.
“Only one actor performs in the film, playing a character who is waiting for someone else, though it is not made clear who that person is—whether a girl or a boy,” Ali said. “This absence of reference is intentional; I tried to let the audience interpret the story themselves and reflect on the meaning of that waiting.”
The character’s emotions are conveyed without dialogue or conventional facial expressions. Instead, Ali uses physical movements and everyday actions to communicate anxiety and anticipation, including movements of the hands and head, sitting, listening through headphones, waiting and repeatedly looking at a monitor.
Ali said the film was shot in a reel-style format, using the minimalist setting and performance to focus on the character’s internal emotional state.
The choice of Dukan Lake was also intended to serve a narrative purpose beyond providing a scenic backdrop.
“Choosing Dukan Lake as the location was not just for the visual beauty; I tried to make the nature of the location and the surrounding silence part of the expression of the character’s inner feelings and the ordeal of waiting they are going through,” he said.
The filmmaker said “Waiting” will be submitted to mobile film festivals in the Kurdistan Region and abroad, where it will compete for awards.
