The 2025 Amed International Film Festival in Diyarbakir will feature the Turkish premiere of the award-winning Armenian documentary Aurora’s Sunrise (Barz Media, 2022). Based on the extraordinary life of Aurora Mardiganian, the film chronicles her journey from surviving the destruction of Armenians in Çemişgezek in 1915 to escaping to Hollywood and achieving stardom by 1919.
Founded in 2012, the Amed International Film Festival champions independent cinema, particularly Kurdish filmmakers resisting mainstream industry power dynamics in Turkey and abroad. With a focus on women’s liberation, social diversity, ecological awareness and creative defiance, the festival has become a landmark for Kurdish cinema, uniting dispersed initiatives and amplifying voices worldwide.
After an eight-year hiatus due to political barriers, the festival returns under the Middle Eastern Cinema Academy with support from the Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality. More than an event, the festival represents a city-wide celebration of freedom, solidarity and artistic exchange.
Aurora’s Sunrise will be screened on December 12, 2025. For more information, please contact info@gomidas.org.
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