The 5th Rojava International Film Festival, held in Qamishlo city in the Cizîre Canton of North-East Syria, under the theme “Shared Stories and Free Cinema,” came to an end on its eighth day.
The festival, which began on October 13, the 65th anniversary of the Amûde Cinema Massacre, continued until November 20. The festival went beyond being merely an artistic gathering, bringing the region’s collective memory, culture of resistance, and understanding of free cinema to the audience.
Representatives of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), officials from the Cizîre Canton, the Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM), women’s organizations, cultural institutions, political parties, numerous directors and filmmakers, and participants from Spain, the United Kingdom, Northern Kurdistan, and Damascus attended the major art and cinema gathering.
Featuring a total of 81 films, the seven-day festival hosted screenings at the Mihemed Shexo Center for Culture and Arts and the Tev-Çand Mesopotamia Cinema Hall in Qamishlo. The program included 21 documentaries, 7 feature-length Kurdish films, 8 Syrian productions, 8 international feature films, and 37 short films. 22 of the screened films were directed by women. This year’s selection prominently highlighted themes such as resistance, the pursuit of freedom, migration, and social struggle.
Women directors and a women-centered cinematic language defined the spirit of this year’s festival. According to the festival committee, women have played an active role in every stage of the process, and the festival’s films carried this perspective, highlighting that the Rojava Revolution itself is a women’s revolution.
The final day’s program began with a moment of silence, after which the Yekbar group performed their songs.
Speaking at the festival, PYD (Democratic Union Party) Co-Chair Aldar Xelîl stated that the Rojava Festival became a stage for cultural resistance and showed the reality of the people in the midst of war; describing cinema as the language of preserving existence.
Xelîl said that the festival was an important step in encouraging screenwriters, preserving the culture of the people, and keeping the revolutionary spirit and the voices of women alive through stories.
The Kurdish politician pointed out that the continuation of such events was an indication of the vitality of society and its connection to its culture and identity.
Festival Preparatory Committee Member and Director Numan Yiğit stated that the importance of the festival was felt even more in an environment where capitalist modernity was trying to impose a new order, saying, “Cinema in Rojava works to preserve traditions, history, and the values of the people, and keeps the stories of the people alive in the face of attempts to oppress and crush them.”
At the end of the festival, the results were announced and 8 films were awarded. Nasreen Farqeen, screenwriter of the short screenplay “Dre Asikri,” and Gulê Welat, screenwriter of the feature-length screenplay “Binxet,” also won awards.