The Kobani International Film Festival is an independent cultural platform dedicated to highlighting cinematic voices from around the world, with a particular focus on underrepresented regions and communities. The festival was founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by Komma e.V., a non‑profit cultural organization led by Kurdish and international filmmakers who believed in the power of cinema as a tool for expression, dialogue, and social change. Among the festival’s founding members are director Janko Sharif, who currently serves as the Festival Director, and Mustafa Zidan, who holds the position of Head of the Public Relations and Media Office.

Despite financial challenges, the festival has steadily grown, gaining increasing international visibility year after year. The fourth edition in 2023 marked a major milestone, receiving 2,165 films from 121 countries and from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In its fifth edition in 2024, the festival maintained this momentum, further solidifying its place as one of the leading independent film festivals in the region.

The festival is not limited to screening films—it is equally committed to nurturing emerging talents by organizing training workshops led by professionals in screenwriting, directing, cinematography, lighting, sound, and editing. These workshops offer young filmmakers a space to learn, connect, and collaborate, opening new paths for artistic growth.

In addition to its cinematic activities, the festival regularly translates and publishes selected reference books on cinema into Kurdish or Arabic. These works are carefully chosen from global film literature to enrich regional film culture and foster deeper engagement with the art of cinema.

Now preparing for its sixth edition in 2025, the Kobani International Film Festival continues its mission to build bridges between peoples through the seventh art—bringing stories from Kobani to the world, and the world’s stories to Kobani.