Chicago's first Kurdish film fest comes to Loyola’s Rogers Park campus

This weekend has something really exciting in Chicago! Loyola University in Rogers Park is opening the city's very first Kurdish film festival. Over two full days, this special event will feature many movies made by and about Kurdish people.

So, who are the Kurdish people, though? They come from a region called Kurdistan, which is spread across four different countries: Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Despite having no country of their own, Kurds have their culture, language, and their own stories.

At Damen Center Cinema in Loyola University's Alderman Center, 6511 N. Sheridan Rd., the festival will screen 18 separate movies. If you want to go, you can buy tickets in different ways:

•    One or two movies for $12   

•    $18 to watch movies all day

•    Watch movies all weekend for $25.

The Kurdish Cultural Center of Illinois has long wanted to start its own film festival. Now, they've finally decided to go ahead with it. Ridwan Zozani, who helps lead the group, said they've been thinking about this idea for a while and have now found the confidence to make it happen. "We are an underrepresented sector of a community, we are the Kurdish people," he explains. And that means most people have no idea of Kurdish culture; most would not read Kurdish books, most would not see Kurdish stories in movies, on TV, etc. "We need to hold a film festival to promote our culture, make it known to others, and highlight its importance."

The movies at the festival are formidable! Here are some cool ones you can see:

"Suitcase": A type of short movie about a Kurdish person who carries all his family memories in a suitcase.

"Seven Symphonies of the Zagros": An old, really wooden musical instrument called the shimshal in a movie.

"Skala": A story about a strong woman who speaks up herself.

"Khalil": An adventure about a young boy, searching for answers, of his dad.

"A Dance for Freedom": The power of a mother dancing to save people’s lives.

But don’t fret, all the movies will be in the Kurdish language, which is why they’ll have English words at the bottom of the screen (called subtitles).

The Kurdish cultural center does not only show movies; but they do plenty of great things all year round! They have:

•     People playing together during game night

•     Kurdish dance workshops where you can learn those dances

•     Year-round movie nights

•     Holidays have special celebrations like Eid

•     Kurdish culture educational events

Zozani says when people come to see these movies, “They'll get to learn about Kurdish culture and maybe stories they never will see anywhere else. We also live and breathe in this city too!"

After watching the movies you may get interested in Kurdish culture, in which case you can visit the Kurdish Cultural Center at 4217 N. Milwaukee Ave. You can learn more about their community and join in their activities at the office there. Also, their website lets you see when they are open and what events they are planning next.

It is a great opportunity for Chicago residents to be exposed to their Kurdish neighbors and view some really unique movies that tell different stories. You can spend the whole weekend at the festival or just watch one movie and you will watch something new and unique right here in Chicago.