NY Kurdish Film Festival, 3rd edition

The third edition of the New York Kurdish Film [and Culture] Festival took place on December 6-8, 2019, at the Diocese of the Armenian Church, at 630 Second Avenue in New York.

The festival celebrated Kurdish cultural heritage with film screenings, talks, music, food, and an exhibition and sale of Kurdish clothing.

The three-day event was dedicated to Mazdak Ararat, a revolutionary filmmaker, instructor, and warrior from Kobane who was martyred on September 13, 2019. Ararat was a member of Rojava Film Commune. His film Zarok was screened on the festival’s opening night.

The Film Festival stated: “Rojava, the multiethnic Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian region of North-East Syria, has become a testing ground for new ideas about municipal democracy, feminism, and environmental sustainability. The festival producers hope that the festival will inspire working class and marginalized communities in America to build unity with the Rojava Revolution and Kurdish resistance.”

The films screened were:

Deng, Rojava Film Commune (short)

Derwes, Rojava Film Commune (short)

Zilan Kobane, Rojava Film Commune (short)

Berfin, directed by Özlem Arzeba, Mexmur Film Commune (fiction)

Commander Arian, directed by Alba Sotorra (documentary)

Stories of Destroyed Cities, directed by Sêro Hindê, Rojava Film Commune (short, documentary)

Zarok in Em, directed by Mazdak Ararat and Xosman Qado, Rojava Film Commune

Zer, directed by Kazım Öz (feature-length documentary)

Other events:

Talk: Nicholas Heras, senior Middle East analyist, opening remarks

Talk: Kazembe Balagun, “Why Solidarity with Kurds is Vital.”