Rethinking Kurdishness at European Kurdish film festivals : a decolonial diasporic effort

This paper explores the role of Kurdish film festivals in Europe as sites of diasporic heritage, cultural memory, and decolonization. The festivals, which prioritize audience development and community engagement, aim to represent the stateless Kurdish nation and build supportive communities that advocate for Kurdish national recognition. The festivals also provide a space for diasporic communities to express their identity on their own terms, free from the constraints of colonial legacies. Through their participation, Kurdish-identified diasporic communities can redefine their cultural heritage and challenge essentialized notions of heritage and identity shaped by colonial legacies. The paper draws on the concepts of travelling memory and stateless memory to explore how diasporic communities and Kurdish films navigate their cultural practices and rituals in movement, both literal and metaphorical sense. This paper argues that the interplay between travelling memory, stateless memory, and decolonization shapes diasporic heritage and identity. Although the paper discusses the decolonial efforts of Kurdish film festivals based in diaspora, it focuses specifically on the decolonial strategies of the Berlin Kurdish Film Festival (2002). The research comprises participant observation at the Berlin Kurdish Film Festival’s 2022 edition and the analysis of the festival's programme obtain outputs. Overall, this paper highlights the significant role of Kurdish film festivals in shaping collective memory and identity within the Kurdish diaspora.