The 11th Berlin Kurdish Film Festival is to take place between 14 – 20 October in Berlin, Germany.

The festival this year focuses on Southern Kurdistan, or ‘Bashur Kurdistan,’ which has come to offer, as the home of the Kurdish film industry, films that had been blocked by repressive administrations in Turkey, Iran and Syria. The festival aims to provide a closer look at what has been filmed there over the past 20 years.

The festival programme of 2021 encompasses 40 feature films, documentaries and short films, as well as supporting events such as panel discussions.

This year’s opening film in the feature film section is ‘The Exam,’ by Shawkat Amin Korki. The film was screened in the Crystal Globe Competition of the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in August, where it celebrated its world premiere.

Other feature films include two films by the Kurdish-French director Hiner Saleem. His ‘Après la Chute’ from 2009 will be screened, which focuses on the fall of the dictator Saddam Hussein from the perspective of the Kurdish diaspora in Berlin.

There will also be a screening of 11 short films from all regions of Kurdistan and the diaspora, as well as from international filmmakers who have dealt with Kurdish topics in their works.

The Berlin Kurdish Film Festival was founded in 2002 and is regarded as the largest event featuring Kurdish films in Europe.