Teaser Arrives for Halkawt Mustafa's ISIS-Era Sniper Drama Headed to Venice
The first teaser trailer for Halkawt Mustafa's "No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman" landed on 10 August, unveiled by Variety. The film will have its world premiere out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The story follows Vyan, a Kurdish-Norwegian female sniper who returns to Mosul, Iraq, during ISIS's grip on the city. She is driven by vengeance and by the hope of rescuing her younger sister, believed lost during ISIS's 2014 assault on the region. The protagonist has survived war by shutting down her emotions, according to the Venice Biennale's official synopsis.
Mustafa described the film as "a poetic portrait of a woman warrior who refused to bow to darkness" (Variety). The inspiration came from the courage of Nadia Murad, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights activist who was abducted by ISIS during the Yazidi genocide of 2014.
Kurdish actress Avan Jamal, known for "The Exam," plays the lead. Norwegian actor Thorbjørn Harr, whose credits include "The Tunnel" and "22 July," also stars. The cast is rounded out by Kanar Sarchl and Kader Jalal, per the Venice Biennale. Deadline describes Vyan as a female Peshmerga sniper — the Peshmerga being the armed forces of Iraq's Kurdistan Region — heading to Mosul to rescue her sister from ISIS (Deadline).
This is Mustafa's fourth feature. His 2023 documentary, "Hiding Saddam Hussein," examined how the former Iraqi president evaded capture after being ousted from power. Mustafa wrote, directed, and produces "No Paradise" through his Norway-based Hene Films AS banner, alongside producers Janne Hjeltnes and John M. Jacobsen (Variety).
The film is a co-production spanning Norway, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Sweden. Rome-based sales company True Colours recently boarded the project, handling international distribution. The running time is 110 minutes, per the Venice Biennale.
Venice's "Venice Open — Out of Competition" section, where the film will screen, sits outside the main competition but often attracts high-profile titles that the festival wants to showcase without the constraints of the competition jury. The 83rd edition runs in late summer 2026.
Variety first announced the project in December 2025. Since then, the film secured its Venice slot in the lineup revealed on 23 July, with the teaser now giving audiences their first visual glimpse of Mustafa's Mosul-set thriller.
