The Communes of Rojava Six Years On: Towards Many Democracies of Neighbors

2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

Suleima

An animated documentary film, based on an actual story of a woman from Damascus countryside. Suleima evokes some of childhood memories, when her thoughts refusing injustice had arisen. The film is a portrait of Suleima, and a monitoring of intellectual and social shifts she experiences during the events. The visual environment: has been presented graphically fully of sharp contrasts, and imaginary mixed with reality.

Kinder des Lichts

T'es où, Youssef?

The Matchmaker

A unique interview with Tooba Gondal, the woman who groomed and lured scores of Western women to join ISIS. Using social media, she became a deadly matchmaker, recruiting a number of high-profile “jihadi brides” for ISIS militants in Syria: she allegedly helped organise the transporting of three British schoolgirls, including Shamima Begum, to Syria.

The Boy of The Fish

"The Boy Of The Fish" follows Noon, a young boy living in a Syrian refugee camp, who finds solace and a sense of freedom in a whale-shaped doll he names "Bahr." Set against the challenging realities of camp life, Noon’s journey is both a story of resilience and a testament to the boundless imagination of childhood. Through vivid symbolism and a unique soundscape, the film explores themes of loss, hope, and the longing for freedom amidst confinement. Shot entirely on an iPhone due to restrictions in the conflict zone, the film combines raw authenticity with poetic depth to capture the emotional landscape of a young soul navigating adversity.

Rojava - Northern Syria: The Kurds Between Conflict and Democracy

What will happen next in northern Syria? All of the parties to the conflict - the Americans, Assad’s regime, Russia, Iran and Turkey - have their own agendas for the war-torn region. But what do the Kurds themselves think about their future?

Margalida

The emotional journey of Margalida Bover, who was the lover of the anarchist militant Salvador Puig Antich, convicted of murder and executed by Franco's regime in 1974.

The 1001 Faces of Palmyra

Two thousand years ago, it was a flourishing city in the middle of what is now a Syrian desert. At the crossroads of trade routes, Palmyra attracted caravanners from Mesopotamia, India and China. In what remains of its ruins, rediscovered by Europeans in the 17th century, its numerous necropolises bear witness to a prosperous past. Carved in limestone in the first centuries of our era, the faces of the representatives - men, women and children - of its greatest families adorn the walls of its tombs. Since 2012, Danish archaeologist Rubina Raja has been leading a long-term project to find, document and retrace the family trees and daily life of these Palmyrenians.

Salam

In the privacy of her own home, a Syrian woman shares her thoughts and feelings, talking about her existence, and her desire to be open about her sexuality in a conservative society.

Silvered Water

Shot by a reported “1,001 Syrians” according to the filmmakers, SILVERED WATER, SYRIA SELF-PORTRAIT impressionistically documents the destruction and atrocities of the civil war through a combination of eye-witness accounts shot on mobile phones and posted to the internet, and footage shot by Bedirxan during the siege of Homs. Bedirxan, an elementary school teacher in Homs, had contacted Mohammed online to ask him what he would film, if he was there. Mohammed, working in forced exile in Paris, is tormented by feelings of cowardice as he witnesses the horrors from afar, and the self-reflexive film also chronicles how he is haunted in his dreams by a Syrian boy once shot to death for snatching his camera on the street.

Kobane

Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, a female Kurdish fighter guides her fellow fighters in the resistance to defend their city, Kobanê, from the deadly threat of ISIS. A real story of war, sacrifice, love and hope that kept the whole world on tenterhooks.

Süchtig nach Jihad

Al Amal: A Journey of Hope

An animated short documentary crafted by people on the move in the refugee camp of the island of Lesbos (GR), following the story of Orhan, a Syrian Kurd who fled war with his family in 2013, seeking safety in Turkey—only to find that peace was still a distant dream.

The Story Won't Die

THE STORY WON’T DIE, from Award-winning filmmaker David Henry Gerson, is an inspiring, timely look at a young generation of Syrian artists who use their work to protest and process what is currently the world’s largest and longest ongoing displacement of people since WWII. The film is produced by Sundance Award-winner Odessa Rae (Navalny). Rapper Abu Hajar, together with other creative personalities of the Syrian uprising, a post-Rock musician (Anas Maghrebi), members of the first all-female Syrian rock band (Bahila Hijazi + Lynn Mayya), break-dancer (Bboy Shadow), choreographer (Medhat Aldaabal), and visual artists (Tammam Azzam, Omar Imam + Diala Brisly), use their art to rise in revolution and endure in exile in this new documentary reflecting on a battle for peace, justice and freedom of expression. It is an uplifting and humanizing look at what it means to be a refugee in today’s world and offers inspiring and hopeful vantages on a creative response to the chaos of war.

MARUSYA NIKIFOROVA: Ukraine’s legendary anarchist warrior

A film version of the play which captures the brilliant performance by the Ukrainian actor, Mariya Hadubyak at the play’s world premiere in 2023 @ Montreal’s La Sala Rossa. She brought the audience to tears and their feet. Written and directed by Norman Nawrocki, the play was part of the 16th annual Montreal International Anarchist Theatre Festival. On stage, Hadubyak portrays the extraordinary real life Marusya Nikiforova (1885–1919), a fearless and feared, bad ass, Ukrainian woman anarchist and feminist military leader.

Squat 69

"For Sale! Including 500 violent stone throwers from Hell", was the message from the controversial squat 'Ungdomshuset' in Copenhagen, Denmark. The film takes a balanced look behind the barricades and follows the definitive last year in the life of the squatters before all was demolished in March 2007 and riots broke out in Copenhagen.

Everyday Life in a Syrian Village

The first documentary to present an unabashed critique of the impact of the Syrian government’s agricultural and land reforms, Everyday Life in a Syrian Village delivers a powerful jab at the state’s conceit of redressing social and economic inequities.

An Anarchist Life

It’s a model story, an extraordinary adventure, a tale of revolutionary practice and tension, among anarchy and irony, simplicity, curiosity and vitality throughout the whole of Europe, its wars and the social struggles of the 1900s. A tale on how to live all in one breath, responsibly, diving into contradictions, "getting one's hands dirty", and still keeping one's balance between theory and practice.˝

Palmyra: Rising from the Ashes

Documentary following a team of technicians in Italy as they reconstruct a number of historic Middle Eastern artifacts that were vandalized at the hands of Islamic State.