Every year, in May, the Amsterdam Kurdish Film Festival (AKFF) takes place. For three days, Amsterdam is the place to be in the Netherlands, where the latest feature films, documentaries, animations, short films from or about Kurdistan, are presented.  In the coming years, we want to grow into a leading festival in the Netherlands in the field of Kurdish cinema.

Mission

AKFF’s mission is to present Kurdish film to audiences in the Netherlands, starting with Amsterdam. Films for cinephiles, people who are curious about this cinema from the Middle East and anyone who wants to take a special journey into the world of Kurdish film from the cinema. AKFF aspires to become the platform for knowledge exchange and exploration of the Kurdish context through film.

Vision

Kurdish cinema consists of a mosaic of films made in the countries within which the unofficial land of the Kurds, Kurdistan, lies: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and parts of the former Soviet Union, as well as films by and about Kurds from the diaspora.

AKFF sees Kurdish cinema as an ever-developing and evolving reflection of society in Kurdistan and an expression of its rich culture. In this, the festival deliberately makes no distinction between pop culture and niche, striving to fully represent the diverse Kurdish identity, as far as the existing films allow.