Episode Details

Against Forgetting is a powerful documentary that weaves together the lives of four individuals in Diyarbakır, Northern Kurdistan, whose dedication to preserving Kurdish culture endures in the face of political upheaval. Following the 2016 appointment of government trustees to replace elected officials in pro-Kurdish municipalities, the film explores how acts of cultural preservation—through land, body, food, and music—become forms of resistance. As intimate personal stories unfold, Against Forgetting reveals a profound struggle between memory and erasure, resilience and repression. (22 min, Documentary)

Azad Azizyan, an award-winning Kurdish-American documentary filmmaker, joins us in the CUNY TV studio to discuss documentary storytelling, Kurdish memory, oral history, and cultural continuity. Through collaborations with artists across Kurdistan and the diaspora, Azizyan creates evocative films that connect personal experience with collective history while expanding the reach of Kurdish cinema and bringing Kurdish stories to audiences around the world.

Against Forgetting airs as part of Frame by Frame: Kurdish Film Festival, a partnership between CUNY TV and the Kurdish Film Festival.

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