The movie "Kobanê" will be screened in Vienna, Austria by the Kurdish federation FEY-KOM during a solidarity event for earthquake victims in Kurdistan, Turkey and Syria.

Directed by Özlem Yaşar and released in 2022, the movie tells the true story of the siege and liberation of the northern Syrian city of Kobanê.

The film screening will take place on Tuesday, February 21 at Top Kino in Vienna.

Donations to be collected during the film screening will be delivered to the humanitarian organization Roja Sora as an act of solidarity with earthquake victims.

ABOUT THE FILM

The film Kobanê by the Rojava Film Commune tells the story of Kobanê's resistance against the Islamic State, which surrounded the city in September 2014. Kobanê has become a symbol of hope around the world. For 135 days, the People and Women Defense Units fought street by street and house by house to free the city. On 26 January 2015, the liberation of the city was announced.

The film follows the life of Zehra, a 32-year-old fighter. When the commander of her unit flees, she takes the lead. With great effort, the Kurdish Defense Units YPJ/YPG succeed in breaking through the siege of Kobanê against the military superiority of the ISIS and in liberating the city.

Director Özlem Yaşar and screenwriter Medya Doz met with hundreds of witnesses and fighters to prepare the film. The film, which deals in particular with women's resistance, was shot in the northern Syrian cities of Kobanê and Tabqa. Filming was delayed due to the Turkish attacks on the autonomous region of Northern and Eastern Syria.

The cast of the film "Kobanê" consists mainly of YPG and YPJ fighters who participated in the liberation of the city. For example, Awar Ali, one of the main actors who plays fighter Gelhat, as well as some members of Abu Leyla's Shams Al-Shamal Brigade. Secondary characters such as the mothers who cooked food for the front, teams from the military emergency medicine or those who dug graves for the dead also play themselves.

The film is in Kurdish and has already been shown in various cinemas in Germany with English subtitles. The gala was on 20 September 2022 in Kobanê.