Gulîstan, Land of Roses

The documentary was filmed in northern Iraq and near the Syrian border. The people the camera follows are women fighters. They belong to the women’s units inside the armed wing of the PKK. Their task is to fight ISIS. They are also defending a set of revolutionary ideas. Women’s freedom sits at the centre of those ideas. Zaynê Akyol follows their daily life. There is training, there are watches, there are long waits. There are the conversations between them as well. Some talk about what they hope for, some about what they gave up. The title comes from one person. Gulîstan was a woman the director knew in Montreal who left to go and fight. Akyol went looking for her and did not find her. The account is built entirely from the fighters’ side. No room is given to an opposing view. That is worth knowing before watching. The eighty four minute documentary is a Canadian and German co-production Zaynê Akyol finished in 2016.