Syrian Kurds displaced by Turkish invasion to hold international film festival in IDP camp
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The administration of the Lilon International Film Festival is building a theater in the Barkhwadan camp for those displaced from Syria’s Afrin in the village of Fafeen in the northern countryside of Aleppo, to screen participating films on September 21.
At the same time, a special committee for the festival will translate the participating films into both Kurdish and Arabic.
The festival organizers are trying to draw attention to the illegal invasion and occupation carried out by Turkey and their affiliated armed groups in the Afrin region as well as the displacement of and violations against the remaining people and their identity, amid what they called “international silence” towards the suffering of their people.
Symbols
Muhyidin Arslan, an administrator in the festival’s preparatory committee, said that the shape of the circular theater “is an indication of the sun, symbolizing the holiness in the Kurdish heritage.”
Arslan added that their goal in using such symbols in the festival is to inform the world about the issue of those displaced from Afrin and to break the international silence about their suffering.
Lilon is the name of a mountain which displaced people of Afrin passed through while fleeing the Turkish invasion. 58 films participating in the festival indicates the number of days during which the bombing continued, according to the festival’s preparatory committee.
The Rojava Film Commune began receiving films from all over the world in early July. The number of films reached over 2,200, from more than 150 countries, according to the festival administration. The participating films vary between short, long, and documentary, which are scheduled to be shown in an open-air theater in Barkhwadan camp for Afrin IDPs.
Flexible terms
Mahmoud Jaqmaki, director of one of the festival’s films, said, “Any artistic or cultural step that preserves the identity of the displaced from Afrin is a blessed and worthy step.”
He added that starting a festival in the displacement camps is a message to the world that “this people will not die.”
Jaqmaki directed a short film titled Têlê Kincan (Clothesline), which revolves around the distortion of public life due to war.
Arslan further explained that the conditions for receiving films were flexible, “because the festival is in its early stage and we have not adhered to the conditions that are usually followed in festivals around the world.”
However, the festival management says that it focused on high-resolution of films, presented for the first time, and adhering to a specific time for both short and long films.
Online committee
On the mechanism of selecting the winning films, Arslan said that they have an arbitration committee composed of seven people from directors and actors of various nationalities and cultures, such as Mexico, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.
The festival management will communicate with the jury by sending movie links for evaluation, select the winning films, and announce the winning films online on the last day of the screening at the festival.
Regarding the preventative measures that the festival will follow during the screening of the films, Arslan said that coordination has been made with the Kurdish Red Crescent organization in the northern countryside of Aleppo to secure health conditions.
The Kurdish Red Crescent will distribute masks, impose physical distancing among the attendees, and take their temperature before entering the auditorium, Arslan added.