Lorenzo Giroffi, an Italian filmmaker, takes us on a trip across the Kurdish heartland.

Kurdistan is in the news. As Islamic State extremists battle Kurdish armed forces and Iraqi soldiers, one might assume that Kurdistan is a region plagued by death and destruction. But the Kurdish homeland, stretching across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, is more than that. Kurdistan is a complex land shaped by years of struggles to achieve the recognition of Kurdish identity.

Kurds in Iraq have threatened to secede from the state, as political turmoil mars the country. Sykes and Picot shoved a wedge between the Middle East’s communities after World War I, with borders that ignored ethnic and religious origin. But the future of Kurdistan could see new lines drawn in the sand, leading to a potential Kurdish state.

My Name is Kurdistan, a documentary by Italian filmmaker Lorenzo Giroffi, invites viewers to delve deeper into the Kurdish struggle. Taking the audience on a journey across the region, Giroffi meets Kurdish guerrilla fighters in Turkey’s mountains, Syrian refugees in northern Iraq and Kurdish political figures. This series of testimonies sheds new light on the Kurds, a people without a homeland.

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