CULTURE

Latest News

• Lawyer Bolaç accused of "insulting the president" for sharing caricature by Brazilian artist Latuff 

  Lawyer Efkan Bolaç has been charged with "insulting the president" for sharing a work by Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff.
• Kurdish PEN, MYD and Kurdish Writers Association hold signing day for imprisoned writers 

  Kurdish PEN, MYD and Kurdish Writers Association organized a signing day for imprisoned writers in Mardin.
• Women directors gather in Diyarbakir to discuss problems they face in front of and behind the camera 

  Women directors gathered in Diyarbakir to discuss the problems they face in front of and behind the camera as well as women’s representation in cinema.
• Purple Meridians: Women making cinema meet in Amed 

  To stress the importance of reclaiming spaces and getting together, Rosa Kadin together with the 6 directors involved in the project will also organise a panel (in presence) before the screening to which both Ovni and Streeen representatives will particip
• Germany refuses visas for three actors of Amed City Theater  

  The start of the European tour of the Amed City Theater with the play “Don Kîxot” by Cervantes cannot take place as planned. The reason is the visa refusal for three members of the Kurdish company by the German embassy.
• Hrant Dink’s dreams in his own voice: 'Memory too low for words' 

  With its premiere on January 13, the film ‘System Memory Too Low For Words’, devised and produced by Ümit Kıvanç, will recount killed journalist Hrant Dink’s dreams about Turkey and the world in his own voice ahead of his anniversary of death.
• Kurdish newspaper Serxwebûn publishes special 44th anniversary issue 

  With the manifesto "The Path of Revolution in Kurdistan", the first issue of the newspaper Serxwebûn was published 44 years ago. Since January 1982, the newspaper has been published without interruption. Serxwebûn is also a book publishing house.
• The decay of the Saint Bartholomew Monastery in Van 

  The Armenian Saint Bartholomew's Monastery in Van has been abandoned to final decay; a restoration announced in 2011 has still not taken place. The environmental activist Ali Kalçık sees this as a continuation of the genocide against the Armenians.
• Artists from Sulaymaniyah support campaign to remove the PKK from list of terrorist organisations 

  Artists from Sulaymaniyah supported the campaign to remove the PKK from the list of terrorist organisations, supported by artists, intellectuals and politicians around the world, and called for more participation in the campaign.
• Dema Dirîreşkan declines award for best cinematography at Sulaymaniyah Film Festival 

  The film Dema Dirîreşkan (Blackberry Season) was awarded at Sulaymaniyah Film Festival even though it had been withdrawn by the Rojava Film Commune after the banning of another film by the Commune. The crew refused to accept the award.
• Kurdish theatre performance in Paris 

  Paris-based theatre group Teatra Arîn performed for the first time the piece "Gûl Bê Strî Nabê written by Şaliko Bêkes. The group plans to stage the play in many centres in Europe.
• Why was the movie ‘Ji Bo Azadiyê’ banned in Sulaymaniyah Film Festival? 

  Assistant director of the movie Ji Bo Azadiyê, Diyar Hiso said that banning the movie, which was scheduled to be screened at the 5th International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah, would undermine Kurdish culture, and added that the decision was political.
• PKK TEV-ÇAND Committee condemns banning of 'Ji Bo Azadiyê' in Sulaymaniyah 

  The PKK TEV-ÇAND Committee condemned the banning of the movie "Ji Bo Azadiyê" (For Freedom) at the 5th International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah and said that the ban undermines both the Kurdish culture and the freedom cause.
• Şahin Doğan: “These prohibitions do not intimidate us; they strengthen us” 

  Plays, concerts, or Kurdish artists continued to produce in 2021 despite all bans and repression. Şahin Doğan from the Mesopotamia Cultural Centre (MKM) says that the bans do not prevent them from producing.
• Öcalan's books promoted in mobile library in Shengal 

  The activists plan to encourage everyone to read Öcalan's ideas and philosophy.
• Ronak docufilm withdraws from Sulaymaniyah International Film Festival 

  After the film 'Ji Bo Azadiyê' (For Freedom) was banned at the 5th International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah, the docufilm 'Ronak' announced their withdrawal in response.
• No 'normalization' for the Kurdish language 

  In the summer months after the Covid-19 epidemic, there was a normalization of culture and art activities. However, Kurdish activities were banned. So much so that the bans extended to Kurdish songs sung in prison.
• “Ji Bo Azadiye” banned at the 5th International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah 

  The Rojava Film Commune stated that the screening of their film “Ji Bo Azadiye” at the 5th International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah was banned and withdrew their second film “Blackberry Season” as well, since the festival is not a “free art platform”.
• International Film Festival kicks off in Slemani 

  This year the 5th Slemani International Film Festival is being held on December the 17st- 23th, 2021, in Slemani City, Kurdistan, Iraq. 143 films from 35 countries will be shown over seven days.
• 'Writing to you since the Revolution' meets readers in Switzerland 

  The book 'Writing to you since the Revolution', in which twelve French women describe the Rojava Revolution, is meeting the Swiss people.
• The second book of Öcalan’s Manifesto published in Italian 

  “Capitalism: The Age of Unmasked Gods and Naked Kings”, the second book in Abdullah Öcalan's five-volume work called Manifesto of the Democratic Civilization, has now been published in Italian by the International Initiative Edition and Punto Rosso.
• Kurdish writer Nezîr Ocek: We need to fight more against assimilation 

  Kurdish writer Nezîr Ocek said that more contributions should be made to the development of the Kurdish language and literature against assimilation.
• 'Beating the Drum', a film about the resistance of Şêxmeqsûd and Serêkaniyê  

  Qamişlo Culture and Art Center and Tabqa Cultural Center screened the film about Şêxmeqsûd and Serêkaniyê resistance.
• Eyşe Şan documentary play opens in Cologne today 

  Eyşe Şan is a cry against multiple oppression - both cultural and as a woman under patriarchal structures. The Kulturbunker Cologne will present the world premiere of a documentary play about the singer's life on Friday.
• Rojava Film Commune releases first 'making off' video of Kobanê film  

  The Rojava Film Commune has released the first 'making off' video of Kobanê film.