The sixth edition of the Rojava International Film Festival is set to take place in Qamishlo from November 13 to 20, 2026, with 243 Kurdish and international filmmakers submitting works for consideration. The festival’s selection committee is currently reviewing the submissions and selecting the participating works.
CULTURE – ART
27 September, 2026
05:15
NEWS DESK
QAMISHLO
0:000:00
Rojava Film Commune is organizing the sixth edition of the Rojava International Film Festival from November 13 to 20, 2026, in Qamishlo, Jazira, under the slogan “Shared Stories, Free Cinema.”
Rojava Film Commune opened submissions for films and screenplays on May 17, 2026, with applications accepted until September 23.
A total of 243 cinematic works have been submitted from North, Southern and Eastern Kurdistan, as well as from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, France, Finland, China, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Ukraine, Kuwait, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Afghanistan and Denmark.
The submissions include Kurdish and international short films, feature-length films, long and short screenplays, as well as documentaries.
The selection committee, which includes directors, screenwriters, art directors, and specialists in sound and music, is currently watching the submitted films, reading the screenplays and evaluating the entries.
“Our Festival Is a Festival of Society”
Festival Preparatory Committee member Mirzan Bakr said the participating works, in line with the festival’s slogan, address the suffering of peoples and society, people’s freedom, displacement and forced displacement, as well as women’s and human rights.
“Our festival is a festival of society. Society and cinema complement each other. The festival aims to bring people and filmmakers together,” Mirzan said.
The first edition of the Rojava International Film Festival was held in November 2016. The second edition took place on November 13, 2017, in Qamishlo, the third in November 2018 in Kobani, and the fourth on November 13, 2019, in Qamishlo.
The fifth edition was initially scheduled for 2022 but was postponed due to security conditions. It was eventually held from November 13 to 20, 2025, in Qamishlo.
