ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The fifth edition of the Rojava International Film Festival opened Thursday in Qamishli, northeast Syria (Rojava), honoring the memory of a tragic cinema fire in the Kurdish-majority city of Amuda over 65 years ago that claimed the lives of more than 280 children.
The week-long festival will host guests from around the world. “We want to reach an international audience,” Raman Barzanji, an organizer, told local media on Wednesday.
The tragedy being commemorated occurred on November 13, 1960, when around 500 primary school children under the age of 12 attended a screening at a makeshift cinema built of mud, wood, and fabric curtains in Amuda. The projector motor sparked a fire, igniting the curtains and engulfing the children, killing 283 of them.
Launched in 2016, the festival aims to preserve the memory of those lost while raising awareness about Kurdish culture and history. Initially intended as an annual event, it was put on hold in 2021 due to security concerns.
This year’s resumption of the Festival is being held under the theme “Shared Stories, Free Cinema.” Organizers received 218 films and 22 scripts from Kurdistan, Syria, Europe, Africa, America, and the Middle East, with 81 films officially selected across various categories, including eight Kurdish productions.
The program also includes six seminars and panels discussing cinema in Rojava and the world, alongside two workshops on visual and general directing. The event will run for a week.