Logline

Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, a female Kurdish fighter leads her fellow fighters in the resistance to defend their city “Kobane” from the deadly threat of ISIS. A real story of war, sacrifice, love, and hope that kept the whole world on tenterhooks.

Principal photography of Kobane Film started in February of 2021 in real locations within Kobane city and its countryside. The film set was constantly under threat by the Turkish army, having their drones following the film crew most of the time and shooting at the film set on several occasions, leading to canceling many scenes due to the high security risk.
The story of the film was composed through first-hand interviews with the real protagonists of the real story. Most of the main cast are first-time actors, and some of them are real life fighters.

2014. At the peak of its strength, with control over half of Syria and Iraq, ISIS relentlessly pushes toward the Kurdish Syrian city of Kobanê. Zehra, a 32-year-old Kurdish woman, is a member of the forces that fight with all their might to keep them out. But despite their tireless efforts, ISIS keeps advancing with brutal force.

As the war reaches the city center, the leading commander of the city, Rojwar, takes fright and abandons his fellow fighters. Having lost many of her beloved comrades at war, Zehra is compelled to take his place and lead the resistance herself.

The ruthless advance of ISIS is slowed down with the arrival of Gelhat and his comrades, experienced guerrilla fighters who are familiar with urban war. But the calm does not last long: the Kurds are outnumbered and outgunned, and ISIS manages to lay siege to the city. With dwindling numbers and resources, the Kurdish resistance loses territory day by day. Their plan to retake the city falls apart when ISIS fiercely launches a crushing attack on them from all sides, and many Kurdish fighters fall martyrs, Gelhat among them.

Despite it all, Zehra and her comrades do not give up, and as ISIS members lose their spirit and start to disperse, she leads the break of the siege, marking the dawn of the city’s liberation.

This is a story of faith and fear, war and resistance, camaraderie and betrayal; a story of love, loss, heroism, and sacrifice together with the intensity of war and revolution. “Nothing will ever be the same again.”

September 7, 1980 / Born in Batman, Sason she completed her primary, secondary and high school education in Mersin.

She acted, wrote and directed with theater groups.

Previous movies: “Wene”: a short movie, “Berfin”: a feature film

Diyar Hesso is a producer at The Rojava Film Commune. He has produced many features, documentaries, and short films in Rojava/North-East Syria, since 2015, including Stories of Destroyed Cities - 2017, The Lonely Trees - 2018, The End Will Be Spectacular - 2019 (IFFR, Kolkata, Mostra de València), and Blackberry Season - 2021.

He has also worked in different departments of filmmaking, such as cinematography and editing, and as a teacher in the cinema department of The Art Academy in Rojava/North-East Syria.

Director: Özlem Yaşar

Producer: Diyar Hesso

Director of Photography: Cemil Kızıldağ

Editor: Emilie Orsini

Consultant editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Music Composer: Mehmûd Berazî

Writers: Medya Doz, Özlem Arzeba

Production Design: Eva Jin, Bager Cûdî

Co-Producer: Alba Sotorra

Production team: Medya Doz, Ehmed Feqe, Serdem Koçer

1st Assistant Director: Diyar Hesso

Lîstikvan / Cast
Dijle Arjîn
Awar Elî
Xeyrî Garzan
Rêger Azad
Nejbîr Xanim

Costume designer: Kezî Kobanê

Make-up Artist: Semra Brûsk

Visual Effects Supervisor: Jordi San Agustín

Color Artist: Diana Cuyàs

Production Sound: Coni Docolomaniski

Sound design and edit: Sergio Lopez Eraña

Re-recording mixer: Lautaro Aichenbaum

Rojava Film Commune
Contact Us :

info@kobanefilm.com