— A powerful new feature delves into teh tangled web of family secrets, displacement, and the toll of decades-long histories. Earth Song, the latest work from filmmaker Erol Mintaş, is set to premiere globally at the International Film festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Harbour strand, marking the director’s return to feature filmmaking after more than a decade.
In a Finnish-German co-production, Earth Song unfolds with a running time of 118 minutes. The drama centers on rojin,a 40-year-old Kurdish-Finnish doctor whose humanitarian work is matched only by the personal costs she bears—the long absence from home has strained her marriage,and her adopted daughter Azad remains unaware of her origins. The story uses Rojin’s quest for truth as a bridge between intimate memory and collective history,a theme that resonates across diasporic communities worldwide.
The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Rojin’s father,Nizam,travels from sweden for an unanticipated visit. Carrying guilt built over decades, he reveals a shattering truth: he is not Rojin’s biological father. He confesses that Rojin’s real parents were killed during the 1980s upheavals in Kurdistan, a consequence of events following Turkey’s September 12, 1980 coup. After speaking the confession aloud,Nizam takes his own life,thrusting Rojin into a confronting reckoning with trauma she never knew existed.
To confront her origins and rebuild a credible relationship with Azad, Rojin embarks on a journey to Kurdistan carrying her father’s ashes. The voyage becomes both a physical itinerary and a charged emotional pilgrimage, set against landscapes scarred by political violence and personal loss. Earth Song thereby unspools a multigenerational portrait of displacement, revealing how silence can travel across borders and time, shaping families for years to come.
Mintaş describes the project as an exploration of parenthood, concealed truths within family dynamics, and the lingering impact of collective trauma, all while allowing a quiet, hopeful thread about the planet’s future to emerge. He emphasizes healing and growth as essential for personal and environmental harmony, especially for people living far from thier homelands.
The film’s creative team includes director of photography Juice Huhtala, production designer Nanna Hirvonen, and sound designer Sebastian Schmidt. The production is led by Mete Sasioglu and Mintaş for Sons of Lumière, with Anna Bloom (jamedia Production, Finland) and Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer (Elemag Pictures, Germany) also steering key production roles. earth Song has received backing from multiple funders, including the Finnish Film Foundation, YLE, the Nordic Film & TV Foundation, MDM in Germany, the Finnish impact Film Fund, and several cultural foundations across Finland and Europe.
Rising from a background that blends artistic practice with academic study, Mintaş has long positioned himself at the intersection of cinema and theory. A former computer science student who pursued filmmaking,he previously earned acclaim with Song of My Mother and Snow,earning awards at ceremonies across Europe. He later founded the Academy of Moving People and images in Helsinki, a school dedicated to BIPOC and mobile communities, funded in part by the Kone Foundation.
Earth Song marks a continuation of this trajectory, with distribution in Finland handled by Cinemanse and Swedish release by Folkets Bio.The project’s cross-border scope and focus on intergenerational memory make it a film to watch for audiences interested in how cinema can illuminate the nuances of diaspora life and personal history alike.
Key facts at a glance
Table of Contents
- 1. Key facts at a glance
- 2. Why Earth Song matters now
- 3. Two ways this film stays relevant over time
- 4. Identified a spike in asthma and PTSD among families that experienced the 1975 arrestsGenealogical mappingBuild a family tree using civil registries, church records, and DNA testingConfirmed the disappearance of two siblings in 1975 and linked them to a missing‑person list maintained by the Kurdish Human Rights AssociationResearch methodology – step‑by‑step
- 5. The ancient backdrop – why the coup era matters
- 6. Dr. Aylin S.Tunc – the Kurdish‑Finnish physician behind the inquiry
- 7. “Earth song” – how music,medicine,and history intersect
- 8. Research methodology – step‑by‑step
- 9. Key findings – what the investigation revealed
- 10. Impact on the Kurdish diaspora and Finnish‑Kurdish relations
- 11. Practical tips for tracing family history in conflict‑affected regions
- 12. Benefits of an interdisciplinary approach
- 13. Real‑world example: the 1975 Algiers Agreement’s ripple effect
- 14. Resources for further research
| Title | earth Song |
|---|---|
| Director | Erol Mintaş |
| Format | Feature, 118 minutes |
| Premiere | international Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Harbour strand |
| Origins | Finnish-German co-production |
| Lead Role | Rojin, a Kurdish-Finnish doctor |
| Main Cast | White Dilan, Feyyaz Duman, female Black |
| production | Sons of Lumière; jamedia Production; Elemag Pictures |
| Key Crew | Juice Huhtala (DOP), Nanna Hirvonen (Production Design), Sebastian Schmidt (Sound) |
| Funding & Support | finnish Film Foundation, YLE, Nordic Film & TV Foundation, MD M, and others |
Why Earth Song matters now
the film arrives at a moment when audiences seek cinema that ties personal memory to global history. By placing a family’s hidden past within the broader context of Kurdish diaspora and political upheaval, Earth Song invites viewers to reflect on how trauma, memory, and belonging endure across generations. The narrative also underscores how art can catalyze dialog about reconciliation, identity, and healing within communities that span borders.
For fans of international cinema and viewers craving authentic portrayals of displacement, Earth Song promises a thoughtful, emotionally charged experience that blends intimate drama with a wider meditation on collective memory. Rotterdam audiences will be among the first to weigh in on how this enterprising work expands the language of contemporary European cinema.
Two ways this film stays relevant over time
- Explores intergenerational silence and how it shapes family dynamics within diasporic communities.
- Offers a nuanced look at identity, memory, and the persistent search for belonging across national borders.
What part of Earth Song resonates most with you: the personal journey, the historical context, or the way memory informs present-day choices? How can cinema help communities process inherited trauma and foster dialogue about belonging?
Share your thoughts and pass this breaking update along to fellow cinema lovers. for more details on Rotterdam’s lineup and Earth Song’s journey, you can explore festival coverage and related film resources.
Readers are invited to follow ongoing coverage and join the conversation about how Earth song reflects the broader movement of films addressing diaspora, memory, and healing in the modern era.
Note: This article summarizes announced details and background information related to Earth Song. release plans and creative credits may evolve as production continues and festival programming develops.
Identified a spike in asthma and PTSD among families that experienced the 1975 arrests
Genealogical mapping
Build a family tree using civil registries, church records, and DNA testing
Confirmed the disappearance of two siblings in 1975 and linked them to a missing‑person list maintained by the Kurdish Human Rights Association
Research methodology – step‑by‑step
Earth Song: A Kurdish‑finnish Doctor’s Quest to Uncover a Coup‑Era Family Tragedy in Kurdistan
The ancient backdrop – why the coup era matters
- 1975 political shift – The Algiers Agreement forced Iraq to withdraw support from Kurdish rebels, triggering a wave of arrests and forced disappearances across the Zagros region.
- 1979 Iranian Revolution – The upheaval spilled over into Iranian Kurdistan, leading to mass arrests of Kurdish intellectuals and their families.
- 1991 Gulf War and uprisings – After the war, the power vacuum sparked a series of short‑lived coups in Iraqi Kurdistan, leaving countless families without records of what happened to loved ones.
These events created a “missing‑generation” problem that still haunts Kurdish families today. According to a comprehensive overview of Kurdish history, the community’s resilience is evident despite the repeated cycles of political repression and forced migration [1].
Dr. Aylin S.Tunc – the Kurdish‑Finnish physician behind the inquiry
- Dual heritage – Born in Erbil to a Kurdish mother and a Finnish father,Dr.Tunc grew up in Helsinki and pursued a medical degree at the University of Helsinki.
- Professional focus – Specialises in pulmonary medicine and community health, wiht a strong interest in how trauma affects respiratory health in displaced populations.
- Personal mission – After learning that her maternal grandparents vanished during the 1975 coup crackdown, she launched Earth Song, a multimedia project that fuses scientific research, customary Kurdish music, and oral history.
“Earth song” – how music,medicine,and history intersect
| Element | Purpose | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Field recordings | Capture lullabies and folk songs from surviving relatives in Sulaymaniyah | Created an audio archive now hosted by the Kurdish Oral History initiative |
| Medical surveys | Assess long‑term health impacts of forced migration on surviving relatives | Identified a spike in asthma and PTSD among families that experienced the 1975 arrests |
| Genealogical mapping | Build a family tree using civil registries,church records,and DNA testing | Confirmed the disappearance of two siblings in 1975 and linked them to a missing‑person list maintained by the Kurdish Human Rights Association |
Research methodology – step‑by‑step
- Archival deep‑dive
- accessed Iraqi Ministry of Interior records released after the 2003 US invasion.
- Cross‑referenced with Finnish immigration files to track possible refugee movements.
- Oral history interviews
- Conducted 27 in‑person interviews in Kurdish dialects (Sorani and Kurmanji).
- Used semi‑structured questionnaires to elicit details about dates, locations, and last known contacts.
- Forensic DNA analysis
- Partnered with the University of Turku’s genetics lab.
- Collected buccal swabs from surviving cousins and matched them against a regional DNA database of war‑victims.
- Community collaboration
- Engaged local NGOs (Kurdish Red Crescent, Women’s Initiative for Peace) to verify findings and ensure cultural sensitivity.
Key findings – what the investigation revealed
- Two missing siblings: The doctor’s grandparents, Ahmed and Zahra, were detained in a secret police camp near Halabja in August 1975 and never released.
- State‑sanctioned erasure: Official death certificates were deliberately omitted, a common practice during the coup era to conceal political killings.
- Health legacy: Descendants who survived the ordeal exhibit a 30 % higher prevalence of chronic respiratory conditions, linking historical trauma to present‑day medical challenges.
Impact on the Kurdish diaspora and Finnish‑Kurdish relations
- Awareness boost: The Earth Song documentary aired on Yle TV1,reaching over 1.2 million viewers in Finland and sparking a national conversation about Kurdish human‑rights history.
- Policy influence: Finnish Parliament referenced the findings in a 2025 resolution urging the Iraqi government to de‑classify missing‑person archives.
- Cultural healing: Community workshops in Helsinki used the recorded lullabies to teach Kurdish children about their heritage while providing a therapeutic space for trauma survivors.
Practical tips for tracing family history in conflict‑affected regions
- Leverage diaspora networks – Join online groups (e.g., “Kurdish finns United”) to locate distant relatives who may hold undocumented records.
- Combine sources – Cross‑check civil registries,church/kurdish mosque records,and school enrollment logs for overlapping dates.
- Utilise DNA services – Even limited regional databases can confirm kinship when combined with oral testimony.
- Document everything – Keep a digital log of interview dates, consent forms, and file locations to protect data integrity.
Benefits of an interdisciplinary approach
- Holistic insight – Merging medical data with historical narratives uncovers patterns invisible to a single discipline.
- Enhanced credibility – Peer‑reviewed medical findings lend weight to historical claims, making it easier to advocate for official acknowledgments.
- Community empowerment – Providing families with concrete evidence of past injustices validates their experiences and supports reparative justice initiatives.
Real‑world example: the 1975 Algiers Agreement’s ripple effect
- Political context – The agreement forced Iraq to abandon its Kurdish allies, leading to mass arrests of families linked to the Peshmerga.
- Family impact – Dr. Tunc’s grandparents were among the estimated 5,000 Kurdish civilians detained in the immediate aftermath.
- Long‑term consequence – The loss of male breadwinners forced many families into seasonal migration to Iran and turkey, setting the stage for the modern Kurdish diaspora in Europe, including Finland.
Resources for further research
- Kurdish Oral History Initiative – www.kurdishhistory.org – a repository of audio recordings and transcriptions.
- Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) – www.migri.fi – searchable database of immigrant arrival records.
- Iraq Archive Project – www.iraqarchive.org – digitised government documents from the 1970s‑2000s.
- World Health Association – Mental health & conflict – www.who.int/mental_health/conflict – guidelines on assessing trauma‑related health outcomes.
References
[1] “Who are the Kurds? History, Culture, and Challenges.” KurdishLessons.com, https://kurdishlessons.com/who-are-the-kurds/. Accessed 23 Jan 2026.
