By Avin Youssef
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Najbir’s family wonder about the film’s story, which their daughter was assigned a role to play in. They want to know the location of filming and the cast members. They did not tell anyone she acted in a film. When she was absent, they would tell people that she joined a training course or she traveled for work as a journalist.
Najbir Ghanem, 27, from Qamishli, said “I was pained by my family’s reaction to my work because I was not doing anything shameful.”
After the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) was established in 2014, it encouraged the development of all aspects of culture and art, including cinema, as a way to help the recovery of areas devastated by the Syrian war.
Shavin Khalil, 21, a girl from Qamishli, also told North Press how she got involved in acting. “I have been acting in theater since I was a child. My participation in cinema was a great experience for me,” she said
“I was nervous and very excited to act. Despite my anxiety and fear, acting in front of a camera gave me a unique and beautiful feeling,” Khalil said.
She pointed out that girls face many challenges to be able to work in acting. “I managed to break these barriers. I had to start with my family first. Eventually, I was able to convince them,” Khalil added.
Stereotypes
Both Najbir and Shavin, along with other girls, faced social challenges including customs, traditions and the deeply entrenched stereotyping of women in society.
Kurdish women in Northeast Syria began working in cinema in 2016 through the Rojava Film Commune association which aimed to eliminate stereotyping of women in the field of film making.
The Rojava Film Commune is a cultural association based in areas of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). It was established in 2015 by a group of filmmakers who shared the common goal of reviving the Kurdish cinema to preserve the Kurdish identity against attempts of elimination.
The association not only depicts war stories that tell real events but also shows the aspirations of the population for political, social reform, co-existence and ethnic pluralism in their community.
Nadia Darwish, an administrator at the Commune, said they initially faced difficulties in attracting girls and women to act in films.
“The participation of women in cinema is very important for us. Therefore, in all films and projects we worked on, we prioritized women’s participation,” Darwish said.
Darwish added that the society in general has attached a negative meaning to working in films based on what was portrayed in Arabic and foreign films. People consider it a shameful job, especially in relation to the physical and sexual side of women.
The Commune taught and developed the members of the team in cinematography, writing scripts, audio engineering, and directing, she added.
“We were able to change this perspective by filming in houses and streets, using different traditional outfits of the peoples in the region. We told stories that portrayed the reality of the community and the issues it faced,” Darwish said.
Safinaz Avdke, a scriptwriter and film director who graduated from Diyarbakir University in Turkey in 2015, believes the most prominent challenge faced by women in cinema is the rooted stereotype of acting being a profession for men only.
Avdke believes there is no difference between challenges that women face in cinema and those in other fields, as they include societal and familial traditions, the reality on the ground, and dire economic conditions, in addition to lack of awareness.
She told North Press the Syrian crisis changed the reality on the ground and allowed more openness to the world. It also changed the state of cinema towards better conditions, allowing women to participate in this field.
Challenges
The challenges were not only related to society and the prevailing image of women’s work in cinema, but additional challenges and obstacles came up for crews during filming.
Ghanem said the unstable security situation made working more difficult, pointing out to frequent Turkish airstrikes on the area.
It was very hard for the film crew to venture out to locations, especially when the roles required wearing military uniforms or carrying weapons, according to Ghanem.
Moreover, Avdke pointed out acting requires a lot of energy and is a time-consuming profession, often leading to being absent from social and family life for extended periods.
“Women have not experienced working in certain cinema fields yet, such as cinematography, directing, audio engineering, and others across the Middle East,” Avdke added.
The director stressed that even though women succeeded in performing their roles, Northeast Syria, however, still needs schools and academies to teach acting as it is relies on body movement and visual gestures.
The Rojava Film Commune was successful in producing movies in Kurdish, such as Berbû, Kobanê, Heval kekê min, and Ji bo Azadî. These movies were previewed in numerous festivals across the Middle East and the world, and won awards as well.
Furthermore, Darwish emphasized that the goal of film production extends beyond winning awards. It is a way to “convey the stories of the people in Northeast Syria to the world.”