FilmAmed returns after a one-year break. The event first began in 2011 as "Film Days" at the Cegerxwîn Cultural and Art Center, which was run by the Kayapınar District Municipality. Over time, it evolved into a documentary film festival. Despite the disruption of cultural activities following the trustee coup in 2016, the festival continued its work. The 9th edition of the festival will be held in September this year, organized by the Middle East Cinema Academy Association in cooperation with Kayapınar Municipality. This year’s slogan, which also defines the festival’s theme, has been set as "Roots…True legends around the fire."

Emin Isi, a member of the Middle East Cinema Academy Association, spoke to ANF about this year’s FilmAmed Documentary Film Festival, which will take place between September 26 and 30.

There is serious pressure on culture and art

Emin Isi shared details about the preparations for the FilmAmed Documentary Film Festival and said: “First, I would like to start by talking about FilmAmed. The festival began in 2011 at the Cegerxwîn Cultural and Art Center as 'Documentary Film Days.' After 2012, it transformed into a full festival and has continued as a documentary film festival ever since. The festival continued until 2016. Then the municipality was taken over by a trustee, and the festival was interrupted. We were unable to organize the festival according to the schedule we had planned. But this did not prevent us from continuing the festival in one way or another despite the challenges. Over eight years, we were able to hold the festival four times.

Especially because it is a Kurdish documentary festival and deals with memory and social issues, maintaining the FilmAmed Documentary Film Festival has been extremely important for us. After the trusteeship period, we have been able to organize it again this year in cooperation with the municipality. There has been serious destruction caused by eight years of trusteeship in the city. In Kurdistan, there is a situation of censorship and pressure on culture and art. In such a context, screening documentary films that create memory and address social issues in a place like Amed (Diyarbakır) is truly significant.”

FilmAmed is Kurdistan’s only documentary film festival

Isi explained that this year’s festival will be organized under the slogan "Roots… True legends around the fire," and continued: “The festival committee was formed, and we held a month-long discussion on the slogan. The slogan we chose reflects a return to origins and a concept of regrowth with the strength drawn from one’s roots, while also emphasizing cinema as a contemporary form of storytelling. In this context, we finalized the slogan and opened the application process. A total of 771 films were submitted from Kurdistan, Turkey, and various other countries. Organizing a festival is a challenging task in itself. FilmAmed is Kurdistan’s only documentary film festival. This makes it extremely important for us. We want to keep the memory of these lands alive. We all know that memory in Kurdistan has been subjected to destruction. Against this erasure of memory, it is necessary to tell the stories, to ensure they are not forgotten, and to bring the truths to light once again. FilmAmed carries this mission.”

A vibrant festival awaits us

“A vibrant festival awaits us,” Isi said, concluding: “There has been great interest in the festival from all over the world. This year, we tried to create very colorful productions. A festival that touches on stories from around the world awaits us. During the festival, forums and workshops will be organized.”