71st edition. From 23 to 31 October 2026.
71st edition.
23/31 Oct. 2026
23/31 Oct. 2026
'Rojek' encounters members of the Islamic State from all over the world, as well as their wives, detained in prison-camps, who are sharing a common dream: establishing a caliphate. Confronted with the fundamentalist beliefs of the jihadists, the film attempts to trace the beginning, the rise and fall of the Islamic State (ISIS) through their personal stories. These conversations are the thread along which the documentary evolves, as they are intertwined with various sequences depicting current, post-war Syrian Kurdistan.
Renowned filmmaker of Kurdish origin who was born in Turkey in 1987 and raised in Canada. She studied at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where she graduated in Communication and Media Studies, specializing in the film medium. In 2009 she produced her first short documentary, ‘Isminaz’, which won the Jury Prize at the Roots competition organized by Radio-Canada International. In 2010 she shot the medium-length documentary ‘Iki Bulut Arasinda’, which won various awards. With ‘Gulîstan, Land of Roses’ she won the First Prize in Valladolid’s Time of History section in 2016 and the prestigious Doc Alliance Award at Locarno Film Festival. Her interest in images and politics has also led her to photography. ‘Rojek’ (2022) won the Special Jury Prize at Hot Docs.
