Xezal Gültekin talks about the Istanbul Kurdish Film Festival that will kick off next week

The second edition of the Istanbul Kurdish Film Festival, which was postponed for about two and a half years due to the Covid-19 epidemic, after the first edition in 2019, will be held between 24 and 29 March.

In the second festival, prepared by the Mesopotamia Cinema Collective, a total of 27 films from four parts of Kurdistan in the categories of feature films, documentaries and short films will be screened for 6 days. Amasi Martirosyan’s film Yazidi Kurds, which was shot in 1933 and has not been shown in Turkey or Kurdistan until today, will be opening the festival.

On the opening day of the festival, a concert event will be held alongside the screening of the Martirosyan’s movie.

Kurdish filmmakers will discuss Kurdish cinema and its problems at a forum to be held as part of the festival.

ANF talked with Xezal (Ceylan) Gültekin from the Mesopotamia Cinema Collective about meeting the audience again after more than two years of the festival, the effects of the pandemic on Kurdish cinema and the festival’s contribution to Kurdish culture.

You will be holding the second Istanbul Kurdish Film Festival, which was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time cultural activities were suspended. How did you go through this process as the Mesopotamia Cinema Collective?

In addition to the many problems caused by the pandemic, I think one of the most negative aspects is that we have no idea about when and how it will end. We all know the negative effects caused by this state of uncertainty in every sphere of life. As the Mesopotamia Cinema Collective, we decided to start our preparations even though we were not in a position to determine a clear date and method for when and how we will organize our second festival. At that time, many festivals were showing online. Although this method has positive aspects in those conditions, we preferred to wait and be able to carry out the festival in presence, meeting the audience.

Of course, the festival is one of the cultural and artistic events that strive to overcome the many political barriers that hinder Kurdish cinema. How do you evaluate these obstacles and how to overcome them?

While answering this question, I think it would be appropriate to ask another question first. While many societies have been able to perform cinema under their own name and identity for over a century, why can’t Kurdish cinema perform the art of cinema with its own identity and name? We can briefly answer this question, which has a long answer: From the past to the present, the governments have carried out and continue carry out various policies aimed at destroying and distorting the existing, let alone the development of Kurdish cultural art. However, Kurdish cinema has a feature of resisting and overcoming all obstacles in front of culture and art. We, too, can see that Kurdish cinema is on such a journey and that it has been forced to go through many power mechanisms, especially the censorship mechanism, throughout this journey. Like every field of art that finds meaning when it meets with society, the necessity of bringing its films to its audience in some way pushed us to organize such a festival. We believe that such a platform where society can discuss and criticize each film with its own truth will contribute to the development of Kurdish cinema.

Then it was the pandemic. For example, in the films in the selection, are there any traces that the pandemic affected the creative process? Is there such a result in movies or documentaries?

Frankly, I think we Kurds do not prioritize making a film about the pandemic, given the war conditions we are in, among other extraordinary problems. We can say that some of the films in the festival were shot during the pandemic period but they do not touch on this issue.

What is the theme of the festival this year and can you talk about the films?

We did not choose any specific theme in our festival. However, we can say that we tried to shape it around a theme that would invite all cinema lovers, especially the Kurdish people, to come out of their homes and meet in the halls. A total of 27 films in the categories of feature films, documentaries and short films will be screened at the festival, which will last for six days. These films, compiled from the four parts of Kurdistan and other countries of the world where Kurds live and produce works, will be screened mostly with the participation of directors. The opening film is called Yazidi Kurds and was shot by Amasi Martirosyan in 1933. It was never shown neither in Turkey nor in Kurdistan.

Among the topics to be discussed in the forum of the festival is Kurdish cinema. In summary, where exactly do you position Kurdish cinema in 2022?

Today, it is very difficult to position Kurdish cinema. However, we can say that it is shaped and developed around an understanding of cinema that resists despite all these obstacles. The idea of the forum emerged with the aim of creating a platform to discuss its problems, which we think is the most needed by Kurdish cinema. As the Mesopotamia Cinema Collective, we hope that the forum will turn into a platform for ideas to deepen the positions of Kurdish cinema in the coming years.