Flying Broom designated the theme of this year's festival as “DESPITE…”. The festival, in its 16th year, kicked off on Thursday in Ankara. It aims tol take a look into the reflections of resistance to inequality in the cinema upon greeting the women’s struggle.

The festival will analyse the women’s persistant resistance, women’s not keeping quite and being here all the time despite everything they face everyday.

The opening was at the Ankara General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet. As in previous editions the festival is not only offering films, panel discussions, workshops and reading books but also initiating these moments to be an area of querying in the cinema.

The theme of this years's festival was prompted by the following text, as the organizers pointed out:

We as women;

don’t leave the streets DESPITE your regime locking us up at home
don’t leave life DESPITE dying everyday
don’t leave our say DESPITE your language on your superiority
don’t leave our body DESPITE your holiness
don’t leave our sins DESPITE your hypocrite morality
don’t leave our hell DESPITE your dirty promises lying the heaven under our feet
don’t leave our rights DESPITE your ignoring our efforts
don’t leave our thoughts DESPITE your locking them behind the walls
don’t leave our dreams making possible an alternative world DESPITE your stabilized chairs
don’t leave our freedom DESPITE your banning conservatism
don’t leave our limitlessness DESPITE your artificial borders

We, for Centuries;
Resist DESPITE everything!
Don’t stop speaking DESPITE everything!

are here DESPITE everything!
We resist, don’t give up Solidarity!