Documentary backdrop image for Against Forgetting (2024)

Documentary backdrop image for Against Forgetting (2024)

202422 minGdocumentary

Against Forgetting

202422 minGdocumentary

Four participants in Diyarbakir strive to preserve Kurdish culture through land, body, food, and music amid political turmoil following a 2016 government takeover.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Four participants in Diyarbakir strive to preserve Kurdish culture through land, body, food, and music amid political turmoil following a 2016 government takeover.

People

Azad Azizyandirector

Synopsis

Diyarbakir, a city in Northern Kurdistan, becomes a backdrop for the stories of four individuals facing political upheaval. In September 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed trustees to replace elected officials in pro-Kurdish municipalities, diminishing local governance. Despite these challenges, the participants strive to preserve Kurdish culture through land, body, food, and music. Their narratives reveal a struggle against oppression and a commitment to cultural identity.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion (2026)

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion

Istanbul's cultural landscape is shifting under President Erdogan's influence, as traditional venues give way to Islamic fashion malls and artists like Aisu and Tunay resist censorship.

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey (2026)

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey

Istanbul's cultural landscape reflects a tension between President Erdogan's conservative policies and the resistance of artists like singer Aisu and cartoonist Tunay.

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey

Tension over Kurdish Right to Land in Kirkuk (2019)

Tension over Kurdish Right to Land in Kirkuk

Kirkuk faces escalating ethnic tensions as returning Kurds reclaim homes, while Arabs and Turkmens accuse Kurdish militias of violence and oppression.

Tension over Kurdish Right to Land in Kirkuk

The Turkish Republic at 100: Is democracy still salvageable? (2023)

The Turkish Republic at 100: Is democracy still salvageable?

Can Dündar and Aslı Erdoğan reflect on democracy's challenges in the Turkish republic's centenary.

The Turkish Republic at 100: Is democracy still salvageable?

Turkey one year after the failed coup (2017)

Turkey one year after the failed coup

More than 140,000 suspected opponents of the government have been fired from the Civil Service in Turkey since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Turkey one year after the failed coup

Kurdistan: The Hunt for Christians (2025)

Kurdistan: The Hunt for Christians

Rafedh and Arin celebrate their wedding in Erbil, showcasing the resilient Christian community in Kurdistan.

Kurdistan: The Hunt for Christians

Kurdistan, northern Iraq: In a Refugee Camp (The Insider) (2023)

Kurdistan, northern Iraq: In a Refugee Camp (The Insider)

32,000 refugees live in the Domiz camp in northern Iraq, where many face uncertainty and struggle to rebuild their lives after fleeing Syria.

Kurdistan, northern Iraq: In a Refugee Camp (The Insider)

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel (2020)

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel

In Kurdish territory within Turkey, guerrilla fighters of the PKK navigate life in camps while engaging in a decades-long conflict against the Turkish state.

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel

In the Name of Honour - Iraq (2007)

In the Name of Honour - Iraq

Hundreds of women have been killed in Iraqi Kurdistan simply for falling in love or demanding their basic rights, often resulting in honor killings.

In the Name of Honour - Iraq

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition (2020)

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition, initiated by Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabel, targeted Conversos in a brutal campaign against perceived heresy and treachery.

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans (2023)

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans

In January 1815, American forces under Andrew Jackson killed or wounded more than 2,000 British soldiers in just 30 minutes during the Battle of New Orleans.

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda (2023)

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda

Robert Lohmeyer took the first color photographs of Africa between 1907 and 1909, documenting German colonies and shaping European perceptions of the continent.

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda

Explore Against Forgetting

Where else to watch

The Town That Drove Away (2025)

The Town That Drove Away

2025•1h10m•★7.8TMDB

A historic village in Turkey faces forced relocation as a dam project threatens to displace its Kurdish majority community and erase their homes.

The Town That Drove Away

Meteors (2017)

Meteors

2017•1h24m•★6.5TMDB

Residents in southeastern Anatolia post one-hour clips of empty streets online during a military lockdown in 2015, only for them to disappear shortly after.

North (2015)

North

2015•1h32m•★7.0TMDB

Three distinct camps house guerilla fighters from the PKK, revealing their daily struggles and motivations in the Kurdish region of Turkey.

From Far Away (2006)

From Far Away

2006•1h29m•★6.0TMDB

Five cities in Turkey are featured, including Istanbul, Ankara, and Diyarbakir, revealing everyday life and the effects of recent conflict.

Kurdish Lover (2012)

Kurdish Lover

2012•1h38m•★6.8TMDB

A shaman enters a trance while watching television in a Kurdish village affected by war, where love and control often intertwine.

Browse more like this

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion (2026)

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion

Istanbul's cultural landscape is shifting under President Erdogan's influence, as traditional venues give way to Islamic fashion malls and artists like Aisu and Tunay resist censorship.

The Two Faces of Turkey: Inside Istanbul's Cultural Rebellion

No digital watch option in your country

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey (2026)

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey

Istanbul's cultural landscape reflects a tension between President Erdogan's conservative policies and the resistance of artists like singer Aisu and cartoonist Tunay.

Istanbul: The Two Faces of Turkey

No digital watch option in your country

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel (2020)

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel

In Kurdish territory within Turkey, guerrilla fighters of the PKK navigate life in camps while engaging in a decades-long conflict against the Turkish state.

Follow the lives of guerrilla fighters - BAKUR: Inside the PKK - True Story Documentary Channel

No digital watch option in your country

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition (2020)

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition, initiated by Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabel, targeted Conversos in a brutal campaign against perceived heresy and treachery.

Convert Or Burn: The Brutal Reality Of The Spanish Inquisition

No digital watch option in your country

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans (2023)

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans

In January 1815, American forces under Andrew Jackson killed or wounded more than 2,000 British soldiers in just 30 minutes during the Battle of New Orleans.

1815: The Battle Of New Orleans

No digital watch option in your country

Tokyo Kurds (2021)

Tokyo Kurds

2021•1h43m•★10.0TMDB

Approximately 2,000 Kurdish refugees fled persecution from the Turkish government in the 1990s and settled in a suburb of Tokyo.

Return to Kirkuk: A Year in the Fire (2006)

Return to Kirkuk: A Year in the Fire

2006•1h30m•★7.0TMDB

After 25 years in exile, Karzan Sherabayani returns to Kirkuk to vote in Iraq's first democratic election following decades of ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Return to Kirkuk: A Year in the Fire

Yar (2020)

Yar

2020•22m•★8.0TMDB

In eastern and northern Kurdistan, the Yarsan community practices a unique religious tradition centered on the Tanbur, an ancient instrument vital for their ceremonies.

Stories of Destroyed Cities (2016)

Stories of Destroyed Cities

2016•1h18m•★8.0TMDB

Three cities in northern Syria-Sinjar, Kobanî, and Jazaa-suffered extensive destruction due to the conflict with ISIS.

Stories of Destroyed Cities

12 Mart: Gripes (1994)

12 Mart: Gripes

1994•43m•★8.0TMDB

Five key figures, including EP Chairperson Ragıp Gümüşpala, convene in the Assembly to discuss the political crisis following Menderes' execution.

12 Mart: Gripes

A Provincial Town (2017)

A Provincial Town

2017•1h28m•★5.0TMDB

Colón, a town two hours north of Buenos Aires, presents vignettes of its residents' daily lives and interactions.

A Provincial Town

Indisch Zwijgen (2022)

Indisch Zwijgen

2022•32m•★7.0TMDB

Three young artists confront the silence surrounding their family histories linked to the Dutch East Indies in a 32-minute documentary.

Indisch Zwijgen

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →