Interview
German- Israeli Film Director & Performing Arts Producer
By; Azad Karimi
.My name is Yoél Culiner, bachelor's in classical music performance (flute) from the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Married to Elisabeth and father of Orel. Originally from Jerusalem, born to a Canadian father and a Danish mother, currently reside with my family in Berlin, Germany. For the past few years, I have been directing and producing visual recordings for some of the world's finest classical musicians.
Interview
German- Israeli Film Director & Performing Arts Producer
Yoél Culiner
By Azad Karimi
In my opinion, Yuél is a phenomenon of its kind and is truly unique. According to the faithful Jews, he is one of Abraham's children. As am I. My parents are Aari(Aryan)Kurds, and the Kurds and Jews are one race, the Aari. Ar or Yar means twin or two friends and this means believing in the balance based on doing good deeds. Their manifestation is in light and darkness. The Yarsanis are the only Kurds who clearly have this name and title, Yari... and their religion is also called Yarisan or Arizandu, which means helper of God. And that is the fourth finger of the left hand of Mardukh, the Izad of creation, which is directly connected to his heart. The fourth number is the number of Wahram or Mars, and Wahram is Avraham or Yam=May, the standard bearer of Mithra's army, and the guardian Izad of the sun's rays.
Of course, I am one of the Kurds who have Abrahamic descent. I was born in the city of Saqez, which is known in the Bible as the Ur of the Chaldeans. That is, the city of the Chaldeans and according to the ancient Pahlawi texts, the Chaldeans or Parudar Kish, ParuaKash or Farawar-Tish(The followers of the Parudar beliefs)are people who highly respected the rooster as the harbinger of the really morning. This respect still exists in the Yarsani religion and the celebration of Khaawan Kaar is a reminder of this ancient belief.
The name of this rooster is Patrote, Parita,Athruta, Asrat,Thriti, Frita, Prufit, Fripat, Atrupat, Paruza, Sharudar, Sharza,Sherswar, Shaswar, Baruja, Rojbayan, Paruzar, Parudar, Kallazar, Kalladar, Kallada. The Urartian people loved this Izad and depicted him as a warrior holding a cock's feather in his hand and riding on a male war lion.
The prophet is the same word in English!
The Chaldeans had another name: Parutarians or Atrupathians. The Arabs later called it Azerbaijan because it was difficult for them to pronounce this word. Turks entered the southern regions of the Caucasus in the 16th century, and during the time of Reza Shah of Iran and Stalin of the Soviet Union, they gave the name of Azerbaijan to the eastern regions of Lake Urmia and north of Aras from Mount Ararat.
Prophet Abraham was born and lived in this city until his youth. His father was the Atrupat of the sacred fire temple of Kharuna or Aruna (sacred boar The Flag Bearer of Mithra's army). The prophet Zoroaster was also from this city, as well as Shurida Sakastani, or Mashiah Ashkenazi, is also from this city.
Medes kings ruled in this city until the time of Cyrus the Great. The founder of the Ashkenazi Kingdom, namely Arashka or Arash the archer,Kyrash, Kurash, Shuruka, Shurupak, Kashpura, Kashpara, Kashura, Shuruka, Churukha(wheel), Churuwa(number 4), Sherko who rebelled against the Greeks, was also Atrupat of this city. During the Sassanid era, this city was the Prayer side Zoroastrian kings and it was the most beloved city of Khusraw Parwez. He lived in this city every summer. Therefore, the Chaldean civilization is the same as the Kashitte civilization, which is one of the civilizations before the great storm that existed in ancient Kurdistan, Mesopotamia, and the Zagros plateau.
In the era of mythology, Jamshid Shah(Iwakhsha, Huwakhshatara, Woshadara, Ushidar, Shurida, Darwesha, Yiwa, Yim, Yam, May, Abraham) ruled this city and was the guardian of this fire. This fire temple was destroyed during the time of the second caliph of the Muslims, but it was rebuilt without the sacred fire and was destroyed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps(Sepah e Pasdaran) in the winter of 1988.
Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani was the performer of this project. He was an antique thief and he destroyed this old castle in the hope of finding ancient treasures.
Anyway, I wanted to start the introduction with the fact that Yuel is a talented and great person, and I congratulate the country of Germany, which spends a lot of money to support artists.
But instead, you see a country like Iran, whose government seeks to destroy artists, for example, the imprisoned rap artist Saman Yasin from Kurdistan-Iran and Tumaj Salehi from the Bakhtiari's- Lur Iran, are facing execution because their songs criticize the terrorist regime of Iran.
I use this opportunity and ask all rappers and musicians in the world to voice their protest to international legal institutions and support these two rappers.
Or, for example, Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi are imprisoned and tortured physically and mentally by this satanic regime. These two young geniuses have been sentenced to sixteen years in prison. They are the champions of the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Their accusation is the connection with Israel.
The connection with Israel is a vague accusation. The Mullah-Pasdar regime of Iran always calls Israel the Zionist regime and with this word they want to insult this country. But which insult? Is being a Zionist an insult? Are Jews ashamed of being Zionists? If we call the western countries the free world, is it a source of shame? The Free world means countries that follow democracy. Is it a shame to be a follower of democracy?
But the Islamic regime of Iran calls itself and its international terrorists the axis of resistance because it is ashamed to say that it is the front of international terrorism, and terrorism is a cause of moral condemnation, therefore it calls its terrorist acts heroic operations and calls its destruction international base the resistance front! Therefore, the Iranian regime measures everything of others by its actions.
Zionism means believing in the existence of a Jewish state for Jews. This country is located in Israel. The descendants of Abraham were brought to the Zagros plateau by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC, but a part of the Jews remained in Israel.
Anyway, I believe in the re-establishment of the state of Israel and I also hate anti-Jewish propaganda, according to one of the Israeli politicians who recently said that criticizing the policies of the Israeli government is only criticism, but if they want to attack the foundations of this country in the name of criticism this is proof of anti-Semitism...
For example, look at the Turkish regime, which destroyed the Kurds for seventy years under the name of fighting cultural backwardness and strengthening the foundations of secularism, but now that it has returned to the same reaction, it is threatening the Kurds in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq under the name of fighting terrorism and is changing the demography of Kurdistan with wall construction and occupation and calls the Kurds' efforts to establish democracy terrorism and dependence on Israel and the Free World Front.
Or the Iranian regime, which is a bankrupt and miserable regime, calls the killing of Jina Amini a scenario of Israel, The USA and its Kurdish opponents! and it has made an excuse to suppress again in Kurdistan, that exiled Kurdish parties living in Iraqi Kurdistan want to attack Iran!
The regime of Iran and the illegitimate regime of Mohammad Sudani of Iraq, which came to power after many protests and killings in Iraq, have now deployed Shi’e militias of the Hashd al-Shaabi on the borders of Iran and Iraq to fight with the Kurdish parties but it is interesting to say that the Kurdish parties have announced that they do not intend to go to war and they just support the peaceful protests of the people.
While the peaceful protests of the people of Mahabad, Piranshar, and Jwanro turned into a massacre a few days ago, and the Iranian regime targeted the people with tanks and armored personnel carriers. But if the Iranian Kurdish parties living in Iraq had the intention of helping the defenseless people of Mahabad, Jwanro, Piranshar, Bokan, Sna, Saqez, Mariwan, Kamyaran, Krmashan, Urmia, etc., they would have done so.
However, their silence and their lack of support are highly criticized and condemned by me because Peshmerga means to sacrifice for the people in any condition... and they failed to fulfill their duty to the people of Kurdistan at this critical juncture.
The leaders of the Kurdish parties are trapped in history and unfortunately, they do not want to free themselves from this trap. They create false hope for the people of Kurdistan and false fear for the Iranian regime by relying on their struggle history and the power of these parties is to the extent of calling the people of Kurdistan to strike. Calling for a long-term strike will deal a devastating blow to the economic foundation of the unfortunate people of Kurdistan, and this means suicide and basically, for the mullahs' regime, which has a large part of its income through illegal activities, what is the importance of the destruction of Iran's market economy? He is not related to Iran's market and industry.
On the other hand, the government of Germany and the government of Iceland took the initiative and made a proposal to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Genève, causing the majority of the members of this group, who were from civilized and advanced western countries, respond positively to this proposal and it was based on the resolution as a result of the approval of this proposed plan, this council was obliged to create a fact-finding commission about the crimes of the Iranian regime against the defenseless demonstrators in Iran.
Thanks to Germany and Iceland...
The Iranian regime has spent a lot of money to gather votes for itself in these international organizations also the fascist regime of Qatar did this in FIFA, and the International Football Federation, by choosing Qatar, created a lot of criticism. The corrupt regime of Qatar is one of the dirtiest and most corrupt regimes in the world, which tries to distort the truth by paying huge bribes to various people.
Wherever there is a sign of the suppression of democracy, you should see the dirty hands of the Qatari regime there. He supports the repressive regimes of Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some backward and anti-people regimes in Africa and Latin America.
Some Arab immigrants living in Latin America whose fathers immigrated to these countries in the early 20th century. The regimes of Iran and Qatar use their dirty oil money by using terrorist groups such as Lebanon's Hezbullah to recruit people among Latin American Arabs to create various mafias and cartels for money laundering and disrupting the economic system of western democratic countries or The free world.
I ask the free world to come to the aid of the people of Kurdistan. I can't trust other Iranian (Non-Kurd people)because they don't make a major effort to free themselves. They still cannot accept that having freedom is a universal and inherent right. This freedom includes the freedom to have a choice. Choosing how to live. This way includes all individual and social freedoms. They can't even accept that Mahsa Amini's real name is Jina Amini. Because this is a chosen name for this girl, and Mahsa is an imposed name.
In the story of the massacre of Mahabad, Bokan, Jwanro, and Piranshar in the last few days, we all witnessed the silence of all known Iranian people inside and outside of Iran. And we saw that the number of demonstrations in other cities suddenly decreased. Because they simply argued that the Kurds want to create a country for themselves and that the mullahs' regime has the right to confront them...
My message to the Mullah-Pasdar-terrorist regime of Iran is: Let my people live!... I say to other Iranian people who are silent and have always strengthened the Iranian regime with their silence: Let my people live!... I say to the fascist Pan-Iranians, Let my people live!
This sentence is the famous sentence of the World Holocaust Association, and therefore I request this association to come to the aid of the people of Kurdistan and hold Iran's fascist regime accountable.
But I have a question for the people of Iran: if the regime releases a few people your prisoners to shut your mouth and then the regime marches into Kurdistan, will the bankruptcy and economic ruin of Iran be cured? Will you become prosperous, free, and progressive at once? Will your thousands of lost opportunities and human losses be compensated?
We will defend ourselves against any possible danger, but as I have said before, there will be no guarantee of unity and integrity again. So be aware and brave.
The last point I want to raise is the story of the publication of my book of international interviews, which you are currently reading. Almost two months ago, I sent two e-mails to the US State Department and the US Embassy in Norway with the content: that if you have the plan to expand democracy, allocate funds for my book. Because I intend to publish this unique book, which is a modern encyclopedia, in print, internet, and online. I wrote in these emails that my intention is not to make money... And now, I am waiting for an answer from the US State Department or the US Embassy in Norway.
But why I did this, comes down to one issue: when I published fifty interviews, Mr. Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State at the time, in a television interview mentioned that we provide material and spiritual assistance to international cultural activities that are carried out outside America. I deduced from this that the topic of my interviews includes this support of the American government.
Therefore, I allowed myself to send these e-mails to Mr. Mark Nathanson, the American Ambassador, and Mr. Anthony Blinken, the current Secretary of State of the United States. Because the number of my unpublished interviews was high and there was an election in America and the cabinet changed and I waited until the number of my published interviews increased. And I'm waiting for a response, and if they say no, I'll look for other sources of funding.
In the end, it is interesting to quote the words of a Turkish mullah named Jubbeli Ahmed in Turkey for the laugh of the readers, who said in the last couple of days that being expensive and having no money is a good thing because people do not go to the side of alcohol, gambling, and sex! He also said that the semi-independent cantonal government of Syrian Kurdistan has nothing to do with the Kurds and only serves the interests of the Jews.
What do you think this mullah would do if Ataturk was alive? He would certainly send him to a concentration camp in Siberia. Of course, I don't think that Siberia was a part of Turkey at that time. Perhaps one of the Ottoman sultans considered himself the ruler of Siberia in his dreams. But this can be an excuse for the Justice and Development Party led by Mr. Erdogan to explode a bomb there and say that it is the work of terrorists and we should drop phosphorus bombs on the Kurds in North Syria!
I wish happiness for Yuél and his wife and sweet son. May God bless Yuél with more success.
Thank you!
Østland- Norway
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Please present yourself: Name, education, Civil status, and…
.My name is Yoél Culiner, bachelor's in classical music performance (flute) from the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Married to Elisabeth and father of Orel. Originally from Jerusalem, born to a Canadian father and a Danish mother, currently reside with my family in Berlin, Germany. For the past few years, I have been directing and producing visual recordings for some of the world's finest classical musicians.
?What is your artistic specialty
.Considering the scope of work that I do, one might consider me to be a specialist in the field of classical music video productions, though I am equally interested in producing recordings in other fields of performing arts where the substance of artistic quality is high.
? When and how did you become interested in this field of art
.From an early age, I have been interested and encouraged by my parents to perform music - classical mostly. With that said, beauty and aesthetics in various fields have always been a major part of my life. I have also written a lot of electronic music during my teenage years, DJ’d in clubs, written poetry (I was terrible), and anything else which inspired me at different periods of my life.
? Who was your motivator
.As an active musician, my motivators have been many, to name a few - Noam Buchman, former principal flutist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (now retired) has encouraged me significantly to pursu it and self-discover my artistic identity. He is a unique musician that one does not often come by.
Later, Eyal Ein-Habar, my professor at the Tel Aviv Music Academy was my idol. A first-class flutist and musician. Those two persons shaped me into the musician I was and in a way am today. Along the way, I have had the chance of performing with several orchestras as a soloist, among others, the Israel Philharmonic with Maestro Zubin Mehta.
Performing together with Mehta and the IPO of the C.P.E. Bach Flute Concerto in d minor was a milestone in my ‘evolution’ as a musician. To experience such a collaboration at the age of 15 was a major achievement for me, and an immense motivation to keep on going with what I was doing.
? What was your parent’s reaction
.My parents have always been extremely supportive and encouraging with whatever I have been involved with. Quitting my position as associate principal flutist with the Israel Symphony Orchestra when I was 27 and at the same time stopping to perform as a flutist entirely, that might have come as a surprise to them. It is not a decision often made, especially when so many young musicians only wish for such a job at that age.
? When did you become such a professional Director and Audiovisual Director
.Well, I certainly wasn’t a professional director at the beginning. Around 2013/2014, during my work in the Orchestra as a flutist, Prof. Tomer Lev who at the time was the director of the Music Academy in Tel Aviv and who I have played together a lot of chamber music with, and for whom at the same time I also worked with as an audio editor, strongly suggested that I also investigate the possibility of getting into video productions. He knew that I was curious about it and had a gut feeling that it might very well be of interest to me.
At first, I told him that he is talking nonsense: “I am a musician, nothing else”. Little did I know that in the long run, I will be owing him an immense amount of credit for pushing me in this direction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JGnUIuBY3w
.My first job as a videographer was in 2015 at a children's concert with the Israel Philharmonic. Even though the execution plan from our side (my wife who is also my partner at Culiner Creative Circle) was in many ways very simplistic about what we are doing today, it still was very exciting for us, and quite quickly turned into a long-lasting journey of visual and artistic discovery. Since then, and after many hundreds of productions, our work has evolved into something of much greater scale with creative significance.
? You are an artist and Film Director. Please tell us: Who is the Director, Who is an Audiovisual Director
.This is an interesting question as the role of a director and an audiovisual director may time merge into the same thing. On TV/Film productions, these two positions are in many cases separated, but in our field, or at least in the way we work, these two titles are mostly handled by me. This is a topic that one can speak a lot about and which might only confuse the readers more :) The director would be the person who conceptualizes the visuals and unifies the appearing talents into one coherent entity, whereas the audiovisual director is more about merging the aspects of the audio and video more technically.
The fact of the matter is that both professions are in many cases entangled together and affect each other on so many different levels, and therefore, to me, it only makes sense that they come together and are managed by the same person. But then, the editing process which is done mostly by Elisabeth is not of lesser importance as she is responsible for connecting all the puzzle pieces into a beautiful final result.
You are the owner of your movies, what are the serious challenges facing you? Please tell us about your experiences in your projects.
.Some of our projects are indeed owned by us, meaning that we produce the recordings at our own expense, and then some productions are commissioned by others, such as festivals, concert series, as well as independently funded projects. Generally speaking, there are plusses and minuses to each type of work - With original conceptualized productions we are mostly free to take creative audiovisual leadership, and do with it as we wish. In most cases I license the recording to be broadcasted on TV internationally, with Euroarts for example. When I/we work on commission, I must take care of meeting the client's expectations and desires by trying to bring their artistry and visual imagination into reality. Both types of work are equally important and challenging, just different.
Martha Argerich & Guy Braunstein (Euroarts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NwPyYm3QKw
- Widmann: Étude No.1, Maia Cabeza
? What is the Film and Directing logic? What is the Cinema culture? What is their role in advancing the growing cultural demands of people around the world
.As we all know, social media and communication over the internet as a whole have become a dominant part of our everyday life, even more so during and after Covid. Concert halls have decreased in occupancy, and as a result of that, the consumption of culture online has become more and more relevant.
That is both good and bad. There is no substitute for the experience of live music and live art in general, but the technical standard of recorded concerts has reached such a high level that one can sit in her or his living room and enjoy the music of very high quality, on-demand, and almost as if they are attending a concert, physically.
To a large extent, cinema culture has partially adapted itself and contributes even more so to a different reality, and by that, it is enabling people around the world to enjoy music performed in other countries and cities.
?You are a Director, What is your view on Choosing an actor or actress for rolling in a film
.In my case, the actors that I work with are musicians. Therefore I would more likely define them as talents, instead. As a rule, I tend to work with musicians that I feel comfortable with and who challenge me creatively. Artists that surprise me with their abilities and ambitions and which whom I can create something special. I believe that this approach applies to directors who work in different genres.
?What are the factors of immortality in the art-cinema industry in all fields such as directing, producing, scenario, acting, and supporting acting
.Very good question. Going back to the topic of social media and online consumption. The internet is full of ‘junk’. Pardon me. People are too quick with posting/presenting/sharing. Too often, deep thought is lacking. That also translates into how we produce movies. We must learn to let art and music speak for themselves and not overpower them with visual acrobatics.
Simplicity is key for assessing whether the ‘product’ is good or not. As I have been told many times by my teachers in the past - less is more. Less, in many cases is timeless. Timelessness is what we should strive for when creating and performing arts. Floating above the water in a sea of noise is a great challenge. A challenge that is worth the effort.
? Are you thankful and happy because of your activities as a Cinema family member
.I am happy that I can participate and have an impact on people through what I do. The greatest compliment I have received to date, was when my family and I left Israel for Berlin and one of my colleagues told me that I have been a cornerstone for the modern cultural scene in Israel. That makes me happy and gives me a feeling of accomplishment.
?What is your opinion about the material and spiritual support of the government for a film without interfering in the work of the film
.I am amazed by the support of the German government for the arts. It spends so many resources on supporting artists and their creations. In the Neustart Kultur program, for example - thousands of musicians from across the country are receiving significant financial support for their work, and are given complete freedom with their finances.
Probably 50/60 percent of CCC’s productions were based on Neustart Kultur funds in the past two years. I am proud to live in a country that sees and recognizes the importance of art and culture. This cannot and should not be taken for granted.
? How do you see the view of art, culture, acting, and Cinema, Audiovisual Director
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? Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or new generations in your country and so on
.I believe we all have the power to encourage and inspire people in different fields. It is vital to give opportunities, not to judge people too quickly, to recognize genuine talent, and to know when to step back and make room for others - they are many times better than we are at certain things. I don’t have a high school diploma (far from it), but I was given opportunities by people along the way who saw some potential in me.
? How can you help our world become a better place to live
.By creating beautiful things. Supporting people who need support. By being empathetic.
? Have you more words to say or suggest for our readers
.I am not normally a pessimistic person, but we live in dan. Gorgeous times can pivot in any direction extremely quickly. We need to focus on what is significant for the better of society. Help others. Don’t be selfish. On a professional level - Believe in yourself. You can do it. Collaborate with smart and creative people. But, you must be genuine and honest about your aspirations, otherwise, you are wasting your time.
Yoél Culiner
Berlin 06.11.22
(Photo: Aure Santa-Olalla Valero)
