Kurdish Film Festival Screens Across Five Danish Cities

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A Kurdish film festival is taking Kurdish cinema beyond a single screening hall and across five of Denmark's largest cities, using film as a way to introduce Danish audiences to Kurdish history, language, culture and contemporary social life.

The Kurdish Film Festival in Denmark, which began on Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 13, is presenting five Kurdish films selected from all four parts of Kurdistan.

Festival director Jwan Osman told Kurdistan24 that organizers deliberately expanded the event across several cities to give more people access to the screenings.

"During the festival, activities have been held in five of Denmark's largest cities to ensure that the screenings are not limited to a single city and that more people can attend this artistic event," Osman said.

The films are being shown in Kurdish with Danish subtitles, allowing Danish audiences to engage directly with the stories while gaining greater access to the social and humanitarian themes explored by Kurdish filmmakers.

"Five Kurdish films from all four parts of Kurdistan have been chosen," Osman said. "The films are screened in Kurdish with Danish subtitles, allowing Danish attendees to understand their stories and the social and humanitarian issues they address."

The festival places particular emphasis on cinema as a means of cultural exchange.

Rather than presenting Kurdish film solely to diaspora audiences, organizers are using the program to introduce Danish viewers to the language, history and everyday realities represented in Kurdish cinema.

For Kurdish directors and filmmakers, the festival also provides an opportunity to present their work in a different cultural environment and reach audiences who might otherwise have limited exposure to Kurdish filmmaking.

Osman said the wider goal is to create a cultural and artistic bridge between Kurdish and Danish communities.

That ambition is reflected in the decision not to hold an awards competition during this edition.

"No awards will be presented during this edition of the festival," Osman said. "The primary focus is on screening the films and promoting Kurdish cinema and culture."

He said organizers hope the festival will gradually develop into a platform capable of bringing the two communities closer through artistic exchange.

The festival is also connecting its cultural program with humanitarian support.

Osman said organizers had decided to allocate part of the proceeds from ticket sales to assistance for Ezidi women and to provide winter necessities for children in Western Kurdistan.

"The festival is not merely about screening films; it also connects art with humanitarian responsibility," he said.

That approach broadens the festival's purpose beyond exhibition, positioning cinema as both a cultural medium and a way to draw attention to communities facing continuing hardship.

For organizers, the combination of screenings, cultural exchange and humanitarian assistance reflects the wider role they want the event to play.

The festival is ultimately less concerned with prizes than with visibility: creating space for Kurdish films, allowing filmmakers to reach new audiences and giving Danish viewers an opportunity to encounter Kurdish stories through the language of cinema.

As the event continues through Sept. 13, its five-city format offers Kurdish filmmakers something that remains essential to independent cinema everywhere — the chance to place their work before audiences who may be encountering those stories, places and experiences for the first time.

Garmian Geli, a kurdistan24 correspondent, contributed to this report.