As the forces of ISIS and Assad tear through villages and society in Syria and Northern Iraq, a group of brave and idealistic women are taking up arms against them—and winning inspiring victories. Members of “The Free Women’s Party” come from Paris, Turkish Kurdistan, and other parts of the world. Their dream: To create a Democratic Syria, and a society based on gender equality. Guns in hand, these women are carrying on a movement with roots that run 40 years deep in the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. GIRL’S WAR honors the legacy of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK who was assassinated in Paris in 2013, and reflects on the sacrifices made by all of the women in the movement, who have endured jail, rape, war, and persecution in their quest to liberate their lives and sisters from male dominance. With scenes of solidarity, strength, and love amongst these brave women soldiers, GIRL'S WAR is a surprising story of Middle Eastern feminism on the front lines.
Kurdistan, partitioned between Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria, could play a major role in a torn Middle East. But who are the Kurds? What influence do they have? Who exactly is Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party? An enlightening investigation by Luis Miranda.
As a twelve year old girl she refused to be given in marriage. Thirty years later Nuriye Kesbir is still fighting, now as a wanted leader of a guerrilla-movement. Why does a women turn her back on marriage and motherhood to choose for a path that leads to a battle of life and death instead? A film about a stubborn Kurdish woman who ended up on a road of no return because of her personal choices. 'Sozdar, she who lives her promise' is a frank portrait of the backgrounds and motives of Nuriye Kesbir, one of the leaders of the Kurdish resistance movement PKK. Filmmaker Annegriet Wietsma followed Kesbir on her remarkable journey, beginning in a Dutch prison and ending in the rough mountains of Northern Iraq.
