First Moscow Kurdish Film Festival starts on Wednesday

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The international Moscow Kurdish Film Festival will for the first time be held in the Russian capital Moscow from July 21 to 25.

Films will be aired online as well as in person with support of the KARO.Art Project. The festival was organized by the Berfin Design Group and is supported by the Kurdistan Regional Government and Mitos film production company based in Germany. Kurdistan 24 is one of the festival’s partners.

The potential of Kurdish cinema is becoming increasingly recognized as festivals have been held recently in European capitals, the US, and Duhok and Slemani in the Kurdistan Region.

Read More: Global Kurdish Film Festival aims to promote Kurdistan beyond borders

According to the organizers, the aim of the Moscow Kurdish Film Festival is to showcase “Russian and foreign pieces on Kurdish themes,” and contribute “to preservation of national identity, development of the Kurdish language and national culture,” and create the opportunity to “share historical and cultural heritage with other nations living in Russia.”

It will include feature films, short films, and documentaries by directors from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and other countries. 

The festival is “outside politics, outside of religion, and promotes cinema as an essential form of art and a significant tool for social change,” the website says.

Films will be shown in their original language with Russian subtitles.