Award-winning documentary “The Other Side of the River – No Women No Revolution” in German cinemas

The award-winning documentary film “The Other Side of the River – No Women No Revolution” by director Antonia Kilian provides insights into the everyday life of a young woman who fled from the terrorist militia Islamic State and joined the security internal forces of Northern and Eastern Syria (Asayîş) trained as a police officer. She ran away from Manbij, where her Arab family wanted her engaged to an ISIS jihadist. For a year, Kilian accompanied her protagonist with the camera and worked closely with the film collective Komina Film a Rojava (Rojava Film Commune). She sees the process of creating and completing the film as a collective effort. The work is now in German cinemas.

The story

Hala, 19, escaped an arranged marriage by crossing the Euphrates River to find a new home with a Kurdish Women’s Defense Unit – a unit that went on to liberate her hometown of Manbij from ISIS. For her comrades-in-arms, the enemy is not just Islamic State, but patriarchy in general, with (forced) marriage as the ultimate institution of oppression.

The young women are trained in combat and enlightened in the feminist ideals of the Kurdish women’s movement. Hala is deeply inspired by these teachings and is resolute in the promise to liberate not only more women but also her sisters at any cost. But is there still room for freedom and even love in Hala’s life when her mission consumes everything?

The Other Side of the River chronicles Hala’s determined, revolutionary journey while also highlighting another, parallel life experience: the director’s own reflections on being a feminist and a cultural outsider in a situation where the term “militant feminism” could be taken literally.

Major awards won

“The Other Side of the River” was screened at over 35 international film festivals and has won the following awards, among others:

2021 Best Documentary Film, Hessian Film and Cinema Award

2021 VFF Documentary Film Production Award, DOK.fest Munich

2021 Best Documentary, Five Lakes Film Festival

2021 Best Camera Documentary, Warning Berlin

2021 Global Docs, Docs MX

2021 Grand Prix, Kinenova Skopje

2021 Best Documentary Film, Biberach Film Festival

The work was also shortlisted for the 2021 European Film Awards.

Antonia Kilian’s film has been in German cinemas since Thursday. Film talks with the director have been organized in some cities as part of the tour. An overview of cinemas and dates can be found here.