Since 25 May, the city of Qamishli (Qamişlo) in North and East Syria has been transformed into a vibrant cinematic space celebrating the creative and personal journeys of women. Running until 31 May, the Nûjiyan Women’s Film Festival places a spotlight on women’s issues, offering diverse perspectives on their stories from human, political, and social angles—reaffirming that women are not merely protagonists, but also authors, directors, and architects of their own narratives.
The festival features 37 films and documentaries from Kurdistan, the Middle East, the United States, Armenia, and Europe. These films include 15 Kurdish films, shot across Kurdistan and dealing with women’s struggles, such as the film Ez ne amade me (I am not ready), which deals with child marriage in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The festival is being held in honour of Nujiyan Erhan, a Kurdish journalist who died on 22 March 2017 after succumbing to injuries inflicted by snipers from Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) forces. Erhan was covering an attack by KDP forces in Xanesor, in the Sinjar (Şengal) region of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
The festival stands as a cultural turning point in Syria and reflects a steadily rising global women’s voice in cinema, one that seeks to redefine women’s roles in the film industry and secure the space they deserve to tell their struggles, dreams, questions, and even their silence, when it becomes a form of resistance.
The event, held in the Azadi (freedom) park in Qamishli, featured films such as A Picture to Remember (2023) by Olga Chernykh (2023), Sima`s Song by Roya Sadat (2024), the short film As I Open My Eyes by Ghazzal Abdullah (2023), Sukoun – Amplified by Dina Nasser (2023) and the documentary A Story of Homeland, Memories Of Shade by Suha Ezzi (2025).
The festival also includes cultural performances, art exhibitions and seminars on topics such as “The situation of film production in Kurdistan and women’s experiences within cinematic works” and “Women supporting women, ways of sharing and women’s film festivals”.
