The 13th edition of the Kurdish Film Festival Berlin will take place from 6 to 12 October. This year the festival's focus will be on Rojhilat, the East Kurdistan Region located in the Islamic State of Iran.
The 13th Kurdish Film Festival Berlin opened on Friday evening at the Babylon with the feature film "Im toten Winkel" (In the Blind Spot) by Ayşe Polat. The film has so far only been presented at festivals and was shown in Berlin for the first time.
The opening event was attended by filmmakers from all parts of Kurdistan and from European countries. After the screening, director Ayşe Polat and actors came on stage and answered questions from the audience.
"In the Blind Spot" will be released in cinemas in early 2024. At the Kurdish Film Festival Berlin, "Baghdat Messi" by Saim Omar Kalifa, "Bûka Baranê" by Hussein Hassan, "Turtles Can Fly" by Bahman Ghobadi and "Elaha" by Milena Aboyan will be shown today, as well as "Das doppelte Lottchen" by Michael Schaack in the children's programme. In the documentary section, "Wergera Ulysses" by Aylin Kuryel and Fırat Yücel and "Hawar" by Pascale Bourgaux are on the programme.
The festival program is composed of short, documentary, experimental and feature films, and presents works by Kurdish filmmakers as well as incisive works by European filmmakers dealing with Kurdish realities.
In a short film competition, new voices of Kurdish cinema will be made visible and supported. Supporting events such as panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions or readings complement the film program.
The program will include works by filmmakers from Rojava and powerful international films about the region. The film program features films from the past 20 years that connect cultural, political, social and historical contexts. The East-Kurdish and the western perspectives create a diverse insight into the region.
The broad film program will be accompanied by readings and panels about Rojhilat.
