Kurdwin Ayub (*1990 in Iraq) is a multi-talented artist. Her pop-cultural exploration of gender stereotypes, authenticity, and self-presentation is as radical as it is intimate — a reflection of both a rebellious spirit and empathetic introspection. Her playful approach to subverting conventions and defying expectations also runs through her often autobiographical short films. By focusing on her family and travels to her parents’ Kurdish homeland, she uses her personal search for migrant identity as a central anchor, sharpening her anti-patriarchal perspective. Ayub remains deeply connected to the communities she portrays, embracing ambivalence and clearly enjoying provoking her audience with moments of weirdness or blunt honesty. At the festival, we are dedicating one of our portraits to her, in collaboration with the Wiener Festwochen, sixpackfilm, and the Filmmuseum.

News 25.3.2025