Launched in 2001, the London Kurdish Film Festival (LKFF) is the biggest film festival of its kind. It brings together films from all four parts of Kurdistan and the rest of the world to film audiences in London every couple of years. LKFF has provided a sense of community and belonging to regular festival goer Avesta Kadir, who is now LKFF’s Festival Coordinator.
Festival Coordinator Avesta Kadir at the 10th London Kurdish Film Festival Source: Supplied
When the film festival started growing, I saw the development of it, and I fell in love with it even more
The LKFF management committee consists of Kurdish volunteers based in London, and it started off as a local community effort, catering to the Kurdish community in London. But the festival has come a long way over the past two decades, reclaiming Kurdish film and pioneering Kurdish cinema.
They [festivals] brought forward all these Kurdish films and gave them a platform to be showcased. It was one of the first Kurdish film festivals in the world, and ever since then, you can see the growth of Kurdish film festivals around the world
However, 2020 is also the year of the Coronavirus and its global impact, and LKFF was also impacted. Venue, program, and logistical finalisations were all undone. But management committee saw an opportunity in this new normal.
The impact was quite at the beginning ... we wanted to see how it would unfold over the month of March … we saw a shift; a lot of people were consuming a lot more online media
11th London Kurdish Film Festival Poster Source: London Kurdish Film Festival (LKFF)
- Beyond Borders
- The Struggle Continues
- Women in Film
- Once Upon a Time in Kurdistan
- War on Screen
- Children in Film
Like the traditional formats, the program will detail screening times for the films to be watched live, and they will remain on the LKFF YouTube page for some time thereafter. A selection of films will also be followed by a live stream of Q&As with the directors. LKFF will also host masterclasses with well known directors and industry experts, and panel discussions with industry figures.
This whole festival will be free of charge. Anyone can watch it, at anytime and anywhere
The 11th edition of the London Kurdish Film Festival is running from 15th - 24th August on the LKFF YouTube page. The festival will be available globally for everyone to stream for free.
