Halkawt Mustafa’s new Norwegian feature film No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman, starring Avan Jamal and Thorbjørn Harr, will have its world premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film has been selected as a Midnight Film in the festival’s official Venice Open/Out of Competition programme.
The Venice International Film Festival takes place from September 2–12, 2026. As the world’s oldest film festival and one of the film industry’s most prestigious meeting places, Venice is a key platform for the international launch of new films.
No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman is written and directed by Norwegian-Kurdish filmmaker Halkawt Mustafa and produced by Hene Films.
“It is a great honour to have the world premiere of my film in Venice. This story has stayed with me for many years and is inspired by the Kurdish women who refused to yield to the darkness in the fight against ISIS,” says director and producer Halkawt Mustafa.
The film follows Vyan, a Kurdish female sniper who has survived the war by shutting down her emotions. When she learns that her younger sister, who has been missing since the ISIS assault in 2014, may still be alive, she returns to Mosul. Her search becomes both a rescue mission and a confrontation with the trauma she has tried to suppress.
The story is inspired by a female Peshmerga sniper whom Halkawt Mustafa met on the front line in 2014. Born in the Kurdish region of Iraq and forced to flee to Norway as a child, Mustafa wanted to tell the story of women who refused to become victims and who fought for their own freedom and that of other women.
The film was shot on location in Mosul, Iraq. Mustafa considered it essential that the city’s streets, ruins and silence give the film a physical and emotional authenticity that could not have been recreated elsewhere.
Earlier this year, Empire Entertainment acquired the distribution rights for the Middle East and North Africa, with plans for a theatrical release in 16 countries. Mustafa’s previous films include El Clásico and the documentary Hiding Saddam Hussein.
“We congratulate Halkawt Mustafa and the team behind No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman on the invitation to the Venice International Film Festival. Venice is one of the world’s most important film festivals, and being selected for its official programme is a significant recognition. We are delighted that a Norwegian film will once again meet an international audience on such an important stage,” says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute.
Avan Jamal (The Exam, 2021) stars as Vyan, while Thorbjørn Harr plays a central role in the film.
Title: No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman
Written and directed by: Halkawt Mustafa
Producers: Halkawt Mustafa, Janne Hjeltnes and John M. Jacobsen
Co-producers: Shad Ismail, Fredrik Zander and Masoud Amralla Al Ali
Production company: Hene Films
Cast: Avan Jamal and Thorbjørn Harr
Running time: 110 minutes
Production year: 2026
Norwegian distributor: Norsk Filmdistribusjon
Norwegian release: February 2027
Image: Avan Jamal starring in No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman by Halkawt Mustafa. Photo: Hene Film
Manager International Relations, Feature Films
