Cultures of Resistance

In November of 2007, Make Films Not War founder Iara Lee sat down to speak with Iran's first Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, at the offices of her legal practice in Tehran. Ebadi is an activist for refugee rights, as well as those of women and children. Ebadi speaks eloquently on the tragedy of war, and its disastrous consequences for movements to protect human rights, women's rights, and the environment.

As one of the most powerful mediums of our time, film has been and continues to be a powerful tool for opposing war, promoting peace with justice, and building international understanding. We highly recommend the following films for their powerful narrative and verite treatments of pressing war and peace issues, past and present.

The Fifth Kurdish Film Festival will take place in Berlin this year, May 24-June 1, 2008. Since its launch in 2002 it has become the largest Kurdish Film Festival in the world, and an important meeting place for Kurdish filmmakers. It draws its audience from amongst the Diaspora (approximately 50,000 Kurds from Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria live in Berlin) as well as those curious to better understand the art, culture and society of the Kurdish people, be they from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, or Syria.

The CONFLICT ZONE FILM FUND awards seed funding to forward-thinking filmmakers – both new and established – who possess a provocative, artistic, and culturally significant vision. The fund supports narrative and documentary film projects that explore a range of themes and ideas, from peace and disarmament to human rights to arts and culture around the globe.