JINHA

DIRBÊSIYÊ - With the founding of the Rojava Film Commune, directors in Rojava say they will be building a cinematic alternative to patriarchal capitalism.

A number of leading figures in cinema in Rojava were present for the opening of the Rojava Film Commune, a new body that aims to make "liberated film" in the autonomous region of Syria.

Önder Çakar, a screenwriter recently injured in Daesh's attack on the city of Kobanê, was among those who joined the opening ceremony in the Rojava city of Dirbêsiyê, located in Rojava's easternmost Cizîrê Canton. The co-chair of Cizirê Canton, Hediye Yusiv, opened the ceremony.

Zana Delal, a member of the new commune, said that the commune, like the revolutionary fighters on the front, would promote culture in Rojava in resistance against all attempts to exterminate it.

"Our cantons, liberated by the YPG/YPJ fighters leading the popular revolution, are not just fighting against Daesh, the most reactionary face of capitalism," said Zana. "We are also constructing our lives from the ruins. The world should now: we are living, we are fighting and we're winning this fight for humanity. We are the ones who are alive. What will live are the women, the children and the hundred-year-old culture."

Ronahi Berxwedan, who serves on the commune's leadership board, noted that the commune will provide a space for the people of Rojava to generate their own culture and films. She noted that cinema under capitalism reduces women to one dimension.

"Everyone who is in opposition to the capitalist system can come here and make films," said Ronahi. "The states of the West bring just one side of women's existence to the fore. This is why the film atelier here is such an important step. It's an opportunity for women."

(rk-ra-rs/gc/cm)