ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The New York Kurdish Film Festival (NYKFF) unveiled its landmark 10th edition on Tuesday, bringing 30 films to audiences over six days with Kurdish filmmakers from Kurdistan and the diaspora showcasing diverse narratives through a wide range of genres spanning short fiction, feature films, documentaries, animation, and student films.
“The world needs to hear from our perspective,” Xeyal Qertel, the founder of the New York Kurdish Film Festival, told Rudaw's Namo Abdulla, saying the festival aims to amplify Kurdish cinema “at the heart of the world's art.”
The screenings are being held at the Angelika Film Center in Manhattan’s East Village and are set to run until Sunday.
For Kurdish filmmakers, the festival provides an invaluable platform to amplify Kurdish voices.
“Festivals are important for other peoples and nations, but they are even more important for Kurds,” Kurdish director Kazim Oz said. “So far, there still aren't many platforms for Kurdish cinema.”
The festival has drawn a mix of attendees, including artists, writers, members of the Kurdish diaspora, and New York audiences interested in Kurdish culture and identity.
“I’m just excited to see Kurdish films,” American filmmaker and screenwriter Laura Hamlet said, expressing her interest in Kurdish history. “I just love Kurdish people.”
The festival also connects contemporary Kurdish filmmaking with landmark productions from the region's cinematic history, including a film that was written behind bars.
On the festival's final day on Sunday, organizers will screen Yol, spotlighting the legacy of legendary Kurdish filmmaker Yilmaz Gunay, who wrote the screenplay while he was imprisoned behind bars.
The film, which was banned in Turkey for 17 years, is making its comeback to the big screen 44 years after it won the Palme d’Or - the top award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982.
