The film is structured around Dr. Dorpenc Kobanê, who left his job in a hospital in Stockholm for Kobanê to lead the founding of a rehabilitation center for treating the wounded, his work in the hospital and his life in Sweden.

We spoke with Brandon Gamblen and Nadim Fetaih while they were back in Stockholm to finish filming the last part of the documentary about “This Is Kobanê” and the hardships during the filming process.

Fetaih visited Egypt to see the mass protests against the system for himself and to make documentaries following the insurgencies dubbed “Arab Spring”.

Gamblen visited Rojava with Nadim and Tashi Pietrzykowsa because he was interested in the Kobanê Resistance and the system in Rojava, and to see what was happening in Rojava and Kobanê for himself and document them.

“WE SHOW A NEW SYSTEM CAN BE BUILT”

Fetaih says they formed a crew of 8 to 10 people and started filming. He talks about their goals with “This Is Kobanê” as follows:

“We mostly wanted the world to know the participation of the people in the system in Rojava, the social change in Rojava and the efforts of Dr. Dorpec Kobanê who came from Sweden to heal the sick and wounded. We tried to express that people can have a revolution and build a new system if they want to. But the world wasn’t able to see that this isn’t easy, and the people there were suffering.”

“WE TRIED TO REFLECT THE SOLIDARITY AND STRUGGLE OF THE GUERILLAS”

Gamblen says: “We especially wanted to learn and reflect the struggle of the YPG/YPJ members fighting against ISIS, the solidarity among theme and the thoughts of the wounded.”

Fetaih and Brandon say the biggest obstacle was crossing the border due to the embargo by the Kurdistan Regional Administration and Turkey and another was that very few people in Rojava spoke English or French.

They say during the filming they weren’t restricted by the Rojavan authorities and on the contrary, received all kinds of help and support.

SCREENING IN TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
Fetaih says the documentary will be complete in the first few months of next year, and will be screened in the Toronto Film Festival, the 2nd largest festival in the world, in May and adds: “Another important thing about this documentary is that we made it all on our own, without any support from any company or institution. This allowed us to be more objective and act freely. If a company had financed this film, they would try to sway us and we wouldn’t be able to work freely. We have financial issues, but we are determined to get through them and finish the film.”

“EMBARGO NEEDS TO BE LIFTED”

Fetaih summarizes the message they want to send the people of the wolrd as:

“We want to give two messages to the world. First, there is a people in Rojava who have taken their own fate in their own hands. Second, the people of Rojava are under an embargo from both Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Rojava is under siege. The people need aid and the embargo needs to be lifted. Many countries promised aid during the Kobanê Resistance, but they didn’t keep those promises. They don’t want to go agianst Turkey who wants to smother the Rojava Revolution.”

“THE PEOPLE OF ROJAVA SHOULD TURN TO THE WORLD PUBLIC”

Fetaih also says the people of Rojava should resist the Turkish state and Barzani implementing an embargo over them, and increase their organization level and adds: “For this, the people of Rojava should hold campaigns to tell the world of what happened.”

Brandon is of this opinion: “The people of Rojava should turn to the world public directly instead of governments who promised them aid but didn’t deliver and ask for their help. If the people mobilize and make demands, the governments will have to help Rojava.”