LOS ANGELES KURDISH FILM FESTIVAL | MARCH 21 - 22 - 23

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LOS ANGELES KURDISH FILM FESTIVAL | MARCH 21 - 22 - 23 〰️

RISING VOICES

Step into Rising Voices, an inspiring exhibition showcasing the works of contemporary Kurdish artists who use their craft to tell stories of resilience, resistance, and cultural identity. Through painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media, these artists push boundaries, shedding light on the Kurdish experience while challenging societal narratives.

This exhibition is more than just an art show—it’s a platform for expression, a celebration of heritage, and a call for change. Join us in honoring the creativity and strength of Kurdish artists as they redefine the future of art and amplify voices that need to be heard.

Zehra Dogan

One of the most influential artists of this century, Doğan uses her art as a powerful form of resistance, shedding light on the struggles of the Kurdish people. After being unjustly imprisoned in Turkey for a painting depicting the destruction of a Kurdish town, her story gained global attention. In 2018, Banksy created a mural in Manhattan to protest her incarceration and stand in solidarity with her fight for freedom.

RISING VOICES — Soniya Ahmed

Soniya Ahmed will be part of the Rising Voices exhibition during LAKFF, presenting her work that explores themes of identity, existence, and cultural narratives. In addition to showcasing her art, she is also the designer of this year’s festival poster, bringing her distinct artistic vision to the event’s visual identity.

Born in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, and raised in the United Kingdom. Her work delves into metaphysical cultural existence, often incorporating mythological figures and Kurdish heritage. She works across various mediums, including oil, acrylic, and digital art, creating pieces that engage with philosophical and existential themes.

Deniz Aktas

Deniz Aktaş, an artist based in Istanbul, captures moments of stillness within transient spaces through his intricate ink drawings. His work delves into the traumas etched in the city's memory, exploring the interplay between people and their susrroundings. The meticulously detailed scenes he creates reflect the marks left by urban transformation, evacuation, destruction, and conflict, revealing the city's layered and chaotic nature. By blending various visual elements, Aktaş distorts the viewer's perception of space, exposing the ambiguity of “place” and a lingering sense of discomfort caused by the absence of human presence. His carefully rendered images evoke feelings of being lost in a maze—one that suffocates, engulfs, and renders its inhabitants invisible.

Büşra Kutlu

Büşra Kutlu is a Kurdish artist from Batman. While her artistic practice is rooted in traditional painting, she also explores installation and photography.
In her recent pieces, Kutlu delves into themes of power dynamics within family structures, often drawing from her own experiences. Describing both her art and herself as a "hidden observer," she carefully examines and reflects on these intimate relationships.

Hogir Ar

Hogir Ar is an interdisciplinary artist based in Heidelberg, working across conceptual art, installation, performance, and sculpture.

Ar’s work addresses themes of colonialism, state power, borders, ecological destruction, and capitalism’s impact on society. By blending classical aesthetics with contemporary concepts, he crafts visual narratives that explore both geographical and psychological landscapes.

**Sarya Nurcan Kaya**

Sarya Nurcan Kaya is a multidisciplinary artist working with sculpture, installation, video performance, and archival objects. Drawing from her personal experiences, Kaya’s work reflects on social issues, often inspired by childhood memories, forgotten phenomena, and the shifts that shape everyday life.
In her recent work, Kaya has focused on the memory of Kurdish geography, delving into themes of identity and migration as they manifest in daily life. Now based in Paris, she continues her exploration of these themes, with a particular focus on the identity struggles faced by migrant women.

Metin Celik

My work explores the consequences of the desire for domination, focusing on themes such as the relationship between modern humans and nature, memory, and militarism. I believe that contemporary individuals are becoming increasingly detached from emotion and awareness, turning into passive, neutral, and inert beings — ultimately becoming undefined.
To reflect this, I intentionally strip the figures in my paintings of emotion and restrict their movement. In this state, they take on the qualities of ordinary objects, resembling a table or a chair.

Beritan Tanışma

Beritan is a visual artist living in Mardin. Working with techniques such as pastel, watercolor, and acrylic paint, she explores the Kurdish struggle and societal memory in her portraits, with each face serving as a carrier of a story. In her works, she combines figures with bird and flower motifs native to the Kurdish geography, highlighting the relationship between resistance, belonging, and nature.
Her artistic practice lies at the intersection of political art, ecology-based art, and the art of collective memory. By addressing both individual resistance and the connection between nature, memory, and cultural identity, she presents a global narrative from a perspective unique to the Middle East and Kurdish geography.

**Sinan Hezer**

**Sinan Hezer** is a Kurdish artist known for his powerful and symbolic depictions of struggle, resistance, and migration. He studied **interior architecture and painting** at Marmara Fine Arts University in Istanbul and pursued further studies in **Plastic Arts** at Rennes 2 University in France.
Hezer’s work spans painting, book illustration, stage design, and interior architecture. His art captures the resilience of those who fight for freedom, often focusing on **female guerrillas, displaced communities, and landscapes of resistance**. His evocative drawings have been featured in exhibitions worldwide and on numerous book covers, particularly those highlighting stories of struggle and memory.
With a deep commitment to social and political themes, Hezer believes that **art is both a reflection and a form of resistance**, urging viewers to engage with history and human perseverance.

Meltem Evin Şahin

Meltem Evin Şahin draws inspiration from various contrasts in her creations. The coarse, chamotte texture of the clay she uses contrasts with the soft and amorphous forms of her works. By avoiding glaze and not concealing the natural essence of the material, her pieces give the impression of existing organically in nature. However, behind each work lies an intensive, tactile, and prolonged production process.
Originating from the idea of a vase yet diverging from traditional forms, these sculptural pieces symbolically retain their vase function through a single opening. They evoke both an archaic and contemporary sensibility at the same time. While their material establishes a connection with geography, their pure forms lend themselves to a minimalist perception. Within all these dualities, Meltem Evin Şahin’s works embrace a hybrid state of existence.

**The Los Angles Kurdish Film festival** aims to bring the stories from Kurdistan and Kurdish communities in diaspora to Los Angeles. With a concept of regional, cross-border programming with issue-driven films that tell a larger story about the Kurdish people from all parts of Kurdistan and the diaspora for whom borders of all kinds are fluid and porous just as often as poisonous. By presenting multiple points of view from this region, the festival unlocks delicate doors into human existence, highlighting concerns of our time that resonate with audiences around the world. LAKFF aims to create more visibility and accessibility for Kurdish cinema in the Los Angeles film community.

Producing Partner Creating Creators

**Creating Creators** is an innovative program dedicated to **empowering emerging filmmakers, storytellers, and creative minds** by providing them with the tools, mentorship, and opportunities to bring their visions to life.

Cultural Community Partner

At the heart of The Frida Cinema’s mission is the belief that film has the power to connect, educate, and inspire—whether through groundbreaking independent cinema, international films, or retrospective screenings of cinema classics. As a cherished institution, The Frida Cinema continues to be an integral part of the local film community, offering a welcoming space for diverse and inclusive storytelling.

Our Supporting Festivals
Kurdish film festivals are not just cinematic events; they are powerful celebrations of our stories, culture, and identity. These festivals provide an invaluable platform for showcasing the diverse narratives that reflect the rich and dynamic history of the Kurdish people. Through the art of cinema, we are able to preserve our heritage, amplify our voices, and connect with one another across borders and boundaries.

As we gather to watch these films, we are reminded that, despite the geographical and political divides that exist, the power of cinema has the ability to bring us closer. These festivals foster a sense of unity and solidarity, highlighting the things that bind us together as Kurds—our shared language, history, struggles, and dreams for the future.

The **London Kurdish Film Festival (LKFF)**, founded in 2001, is a pioneering platform for Kurdish cinema. Now in its 14th edition, it continues to showcase powerful films from Kurdistan and the diaspora, highlighting underrepresented voices and stories made under challenging conditions.

**Komîna Fîlm a Rojava** (The Rojava Film Commune) is a collective of filmmakers based in the eponymous autonomous region in northern Syria. It works across the region to develop and build infrastructures for filmmaking, screening, and education, fostering new audiences and an awareness of filmmaking as a medium for empowerment and a tool for liberation.

The New York Kurdish Cultural Center, established in 2017, seeks to nurture and showcase Kurdish contributions to the visual and performing arts, cinema, and literature. By creating venues for exhibitions and performances in the New York area, it further aims to foster community among Kurds and to build bridges with non-Kurdish communities.