VOICES OF RESISTANCE AND HERITAGE: Stories of Kurdish Women and Culture
When: March 8 @ 7pm
Where: The Flamboyan Theater @ The Clemente
Featuring: Shero Hinde, Nadia Derwiş, Alba Sotorra and Halime Akturk
Curated by: Xeyal Qertel
Co-presented by: ArteEast and The Clemente
RSVP and tickets Here!
Join us for an in-person screening of Ezda by Halime Akturk and Jinwar by Nadia Derwiş
Followed by a Q&A with Halime Akturk and Rez Gardi, moderated by the curator Xeyal Qertel. Musical Performance by: Cihan Çelik and Sama Ali.
This program celebrates the courage and resilience of Kurdish women who have fought for freedom and self-determination amidst war and revolution. It also shines a light on the rich cultural heritage of the Kurdish people, including the ancient tradition of Dengbêj and the enduring spirit of the Yezidi community. Together, these films weave a powerful narrative of resistance, leadership, and cultural preservation. This program is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents 20 years of film and video programming by ArteEast.
*Please Note for the In-Person Screening:
Attendance is limited, and registration is required to confirm your place. Only registered guests will be admitted.
This venue is temporarily not ADA-compliant.
The closest restroom is a portable restroom located outside on Rivington Street. Alternatively, the audience can use the 4th-floor bathroom via the main entrance.
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Online Screening Program: March 14 – 23, 2025
RSVP: artearchive.org
Available worldwide
FREE / $5 suggested donation
Commander Arian, Alba Sotorra, Spain, Germany, Syria, 2018, 85 mins.
Kurdish and Arabic with English Subtitles
Documentary
30-year-old military Commander Arian leads her battalion of women as they fight ISIS. For her, the armed struggle is the only path to emancipation from a deeply patriarchal society. At her side, director Alba Sotorra documents the liberation of the city of Kobane and uncovers the reality of life at the frontline. Wounded by five bullets, Arian is forced to deal with the wounds of war, both visible and invisible, and to find new ways to fight for women’s freedom.
Love in the Face of Genocide, Shero Hinde, Rojava (West Kurdistan), 2020, 52 mins.
Kurdish with English Subtitles
Documentary
Love in The Face of Genocide is a documentary exploring the oral literature of the Yazidi Dengbêj in Shengal, Kurdistan, produced by the Rojava Film Commune. The Yazidis’ isolated homeland in the mountains of Shengal has faced more than 74 massacres throughout its history, the most heinous of which were carried out by ISIS in 2014. Love in the Face of Genocide explores the impact of suffering, religion and cultural difference on the songs of love in Shengal, and documents how the Yazidis maintain their heritage and tell their stories of love and sorrow through their survival song.
Jinwar, Nadia Derwish, Rojava (West Kurdistan), 2024, 41 mins.
Kurdish and Arabic with English Subtitles
Documentary
In 2017, a group of women set out to create an all-women village in North-East Syria (Rojava). They built it using traditional materials and techniques. Once completed, Jinwar welcomed women refugees from male violence. By participating in the common life, based on agriculture and handicrafts, women villagers forge new identities and build better lives for themselves. At the same time they create a new world.
Ezda, Halime Akturk, Canada, 2023, 14 mins.
English and Kurdish with English subtitles
Documentary
A Yazidi survivor of ISIS’s genocide recounts her experiences during nearly three years of captivity and strives to come to terms with her trauma while forging a new path for herself and her children in Canada.