Amed- The submission of films to the 8th edition of the Filmamed Documentary Film Festival, which will be held from September 27 to October 1 by the Middle East Cinema Academy Association, is open from July 3 to July 31.

The submissions of all documentaries and films that have been censored for any reason or cannot be screened, as well as those that do not attack or insult ethnic, religious, sexual or cultural identities will be accepted. The documentaries and films must be produced in 2020 and after for the submission. The first edition of the festival was held in 2011 and the 7th edition of the festival was held in 2019. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the festival was not held for three years.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Rojhilat Aksoy, member of the Middle East Cinema Academy Association, said the 8th edition of the festival would focus on language, culture, women's freedom and ecology. She expects a good participation in the 8th edition of the festival this year as in previous years. She calls on film and documentary lovers to participate in the festival.

‘Films provide the opportunity to preserve culture and identity’

Indicating that the festival aims to preserve and strengthen social memory, Rojhilat Aksoy said, “The Kurdish people face cultural assimilation so our aim is to keep the social memory alive against assimilation. Films and documentaries provide the opportunity to preserve Kurdish culture and identity. The history, traditions, language and lifestyle of the Kurdish people can be passed down the next generations by documenting them. In addition, documentaries raise awareness about the difficulties faced by the Kurdish people and other minorities targeted by the ruling party. They can raise awareness at the national and international arena by addressing issues such as human rights violations, political processes and social injustice. Documentaries can also be an important source for understanding the alternative history, political struggle and social dynamics of societies.”

After three years

The first edition of the festival was held from April 18 to April 24, 2011. The first film screened at the festival was “Em Kurd”, a film produced in 1982. 40 films selected from the nearly 70 submitted films were screened for a week. Despite all obstacles, the festival focuses on a social issue each year. This year, the selected films will be screened for a week. “After holding the 7th edition of the festival in 2019, we could not hold the 8th edition of the festival due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the political process in the country. After discussions, we decided to hold the 8th edition of the festival this year. The main aim of the festival is to preserve the Kurdish culture and language and focus on women's freedom and ecology.”

Call for participation

Calling on the film and documentary lovers to participate in the festival, Rojhilat Aksoy said, “We invite all cinema lovers who make, watch and are interested in documentaries and films. We call on filmmakers to send their documentaries and films to our festival. There was a great participation in the festival in previous years. We expect the same participation of documentary and film lovers.”