The third edition of the Kobani International Film Festival was held in 2022 in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and marked an important stage in the development of the festival’s identity and its growing presence within independent cinematic events.
This edition was dedicated to the late Kurdish filmmaker Yılmaz Güney, in recognition of his cinematic legacy and his influence on realist and human-centered cinema, as one of the most prominent Kurdish voices in world cinema history.
The festival officially launched on April 1st, coinciding with the anniversary of Yılmaz Güney’s birth, marking the opening of the edition and the beginning of international film submissions.
The closing events took place between September 9th and 11th, around the anniversary of Yılmaz Güney’s passing, and included screenings of the nominated films alongside cinematic discussions and dialogue sessions attended by filmmakers, critics, and cinema professionals from different backgrounds.
The edition concluded with the award ceremony in an atmosphere celebrating independent cinema and emerging cinematic voices, reaffirming the festival’s commitment to supporting films that view cinema as a space for expression and human dialogue.