LABORATORY NO.2

To what extent are we just waiting for death to arrive? This is the underlying question in «Laboratory No. 2». Narrating the life of an employee working in the autopsy department of a university, the film sets out to observe the day-to-day life of this elderly worker who deals with corpses on a daily basis. As he works, he waits for death.

EDRIS ABDI

Edris Abdi was born in 1984 in the city of Marivan in the Iranian Kurdistan. Graduated in filmmaking/film editing from Tehran University of Applied Sciences and Technology. He has sound recorded and sound designed more than 40 short and feature films. As a writer and director, he has produced the films «The Sperm», «Thirst Flight» and «Laboratory No. 2». 

AWARA OMAR SAEED

Awara Omar was born and raised in Sulaimani. He started his work on media in 2004. He has worked as gaffer for more than 8 national and international TV channels and also for more than 10 films. Graduated from the College of Arts, Department of Filmmaking, Sulaimani University in 2021, he worked as a director of cinematography in seven short films. He has also written two short films («Hidden Pages» & «Red Room») and worked on two documentaries, one of which is Laboratory No. 2, together with director Idris Abdi. He has won four international awards and participated in 11 domestic and international festivals.

Death is not the end of everything, especially if you love your country and nation.

This kind of thinking about offering one’s body to universities for teaching may be very common in countries that have undergone peaceful changes in the historical, political, social, economic and cultural dimensions.

However, for the Kurdish nation, which has been struggling for its rights for hundreds of years and has been constantly subjected to war, displacement and genocide, it is important for someone like Mr. Mohammed Tofiq to think humanely and thus serve his society from a scientific point of view Mr. Mohammed Tofiq may not be very educated, but he serves medical science like university professors and doctors.

Mr. Mohammed Tofiq has come out of the heart of these tragedies and now plans for the time of his death and determines the fate of his body. A fate that may be contrary to the traditions of his religion and even his family.

Kurds have experienced all kinds of death except this kind of death. Chemical attack on Sardasht, Marivan, genocide of Qarna and Qalatan, Anfal, chemical attack on Halabja, genocide of Dersim, etc. These tragedies have been reflected in Kurdish cinema except this kind of death.

In general, we have studied death and we the living can learn life and humanity from the dead.

• The 5th Slemani International Film Festival, Iraq 
• The 11th FILUMS — International Film Festival, Pakistan 
• The 19th Big Sky Documentary Film festival, USA
• The 69th MARTOVSKI — Belgrade documentary and short film festival, Serbia 
• The 14th Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film, Belgium 
• The 62nd Krakow Film Festival, Poland 
• The 11th Olhar de Cinema- International Film Festival, Brazil 
• The 29th Sheffield DocFest, UK
• 20th Ischia Global Film Festival, Italy 
• 19th Golden Apricot Film Festival, Armenia

DOKer 2022 — Short Competition