Panel: International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk

Join the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) for an update on their advocacy, funding, support and awareness-raising efforts in the quest for justice and freedom for filmmakers at risk. Attention is given particularly to the increasingly precarious situation for filmmakers in Iran and Turkey, expanding on recent calls for action on the release of actress Taraneh Alidoosti in Iran and editor Erhan Örs in Turkey.

Storytelling is a powerful tool in the quest for justice, democracy and a fair and equitable society, and the ICFR vows to vehemently oppose the persecution and silencing of those in the industry, simply for doing their work. The coalition was created by International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the European Film Academy. Since its inception in 2020, the ICFR has aided filmmakers in Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar and Ukraine, among other regions.

Coordinator for the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk Sara Ishaq will introduce both the ICFR and the panel, made up of: Bianca Taal, moderator and head of Hubert Bals Fund; Nadir Öperli, producer (Burning Days, IFFR 2023); Nafiss Nia, poet, (script)writer, filmmaker, cultural entrepreneur and public speaker (Die middag, IFFR 2023); Dr. Asli Özgen-Havekotte, Assistant Professor of Media and Culture in the University of Amsterdam’s Media Studies Department and Farahnaz Sharifi, filmmaker, editor and writer.