NAMAK KHOSHNAW
PROFILE
I am a documentary and VR producer specialized in films from the Middle East. I can shoot, edit, and produce documentary film to the highest international standards and have a portfolio of work for clients including the BBC, Channel 4, and the New York Times. Originally from Iraqi Kurdistan but now a UK citizen based in London, I can work in English and Arabic as well as my native Kurdish. I have a track record of gaining access to difficult frontline stories in conflict zones.
RECENT PROJECTS
2017: Shot, edited, and produced BBC Arabic’s first 360 / VR video, telling the story of the apocalyptic oil fires ignited by ISIS outside Mosul in the summer of 2016.
2017: Shot, edited, and produced a 360 / VR film on a female unit of Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga (PAK) fighting ISIS in Iraq. This is the first time that the PAK has granted frontline access to a journalist from a western media organization.
2016: Filmed 3 VR projects in Iraq from the New York Times, covering the re-opening of schools in Mosul and an attack on Kirkuk.
2016: I worked with the BBC’s newsgathering team in Mosul for four months. During this period, I shot the BBC documentary covering John Simpson’s ‘50 Years on the Frontline’.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Killing for Honour (2016, 45-minutes, BBC)
I spent five months in Iraq tracking down a man who murdered his daughter in the name of honour. Around this central story I shot and produced a BBC documentary about the issue of honour killings in Kurdistan.
Life on the Rubbish Dump (2016, 25-minutes, BBC)
For BBC’s Our World, I shot and produced a documentary about the refugee families whose only means of survival is to scavenge the rubbish dump outside Erbil.
Kurds of the Caliphate (2015, 45-minutes, BBC)
For over a year, Kurdish forces have been in the front line of the fight against IS. So how has IS managed to recruit hundreds of young Kurds to fight for the Caliphate against their own families? I shot and produced this BBC documentary exploring that question.
The Policeman of Kirkuk (2014, 45-minutes, BBC)
General Sarhad Qader has a dangerous job. As police chief of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq, he’s survived more than a dozen assassination attempts as warring factions compete for power. Now it’s even tougher: his patch is the front line with ISIS. I spent time with General Qader and his men as they fought to defend their city.
Slaves of the Caliphate (2014, 25-minutes, BBC)
The fate of the Yezidi girls captured and traded as sex slaves by ISIS was a major story in 2014. I followed a young woman as she negotiated to free these Yazidi women in northern Iraq, and gained exclusive access to the story of one girl who was reunited with her family after months of captivity.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2012: Director / producer of the short film, ‘Hide and Seek’. Inspired by a true story, the film follows a man trying to rebuild his life after the murder of his family by the Iraqi army.
2011: AP with RW Film, an independent production company. I worked alongside UK filmmaker Gwynne Roberts in Iraq for 6 months covering the 1980s Kurdish genocide.
1999 – 2013: Journalist and producer for Kurdistan TV. Kurdistan TV is watched by over 40 million Kurdish viewers around the world. I reported on Kurdish events in Iraq and the UK, establishing good relations with the Kurdish diaspora in Europe and with officials in Kurdistan. I also produced my first documentary work for the channel.
EDUCATION
PhD. Candidate (part-time) at the University of Leicester in documentary film. Also writing a book about the Kurdish genocide (2013 – 2020)
MA, New Media Art and Design, University of West London (2012)
BA, Media Studies, Salahadeen University (Iraq, 2002)
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Cameraman (Canon C300 + 5D series / Sony A7sii / JVC etc.) Shooting VR / 360 video (GoPro OmniRig / Binaural sound) Video editing (Adobe Premiere Pro + FCPX) including post-production VR / 360 stitching and editing
LANGUAGES
English (fluent) | Arabic intermediate | Kurdish (native)
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