15. KFFB: The Virgin and Child [OmeU] Belgium 2023, R: Binevsa Berivan, mit Hêvîn Tekin, Laëtitia EÏdo, Isabelle De Hertogh 80 Min

Grand Opening with Special Guests Q&A with Director Binevsa Berivan  and the lead actressHêvîn Tekin

The 15th Kurdish Film Festival Berlin (September 25 to October 1, 2025) will open with the award-winning film “The Virgin and Child” by director Berivan Binevsa.

The film premiered at the Ostend Film Festival and won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress at the Duhok Film Festival, Cinémed (France), and the Kurdish Film Festival in Düsseldorf. Director Berivan Binevsa and lead actress Hêvîn Tekin will be present at the opening.

“The Virgin and Child” tells the powerful story of Avesta, a young Yazidi woman and ISIS survivor, who seeks justice in Brussels while confronting her past and an unwanted motherhood.

“We chose ‘The Virgin and Child’ as our opening film because it beautifully represents this year’s festival theme: ‘Tolerance and Coexistence of Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Kurdistan.’ For thousands of years, Kurds have lived side by side with Assyrians, Armenians, Arabs, and Turks of various faiths such as Yazidism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We want to shed light on this shared heritage and look forward to the films and discussions during the festival,” says Festival Director Nubar Hamamci.

EN: Avesta, a young Kurdish-Yazidi woman and ISIS survivor, winds up in Brussels to wreak vengeance upon the man who enslaved her. Between a struggle for justice that sees her revisit her darkest hours, and having to mother an unwelcome child, Avesta fights to be heard whatever it takes.

DE: Avesta, eine junge kurdisch-jesidische Frau und Überlebende des IS, landet in Brüssel, um Rache an dem Mann zu nehmen, der sie versklavt hat. Zwischen dem Kampf um Gerechtigkeit, der sie mit ihren dunkelsten Stunden konfrontiert, und der Aufgabe, ein ungewolltes Kind zu versorgen, kämpft Avesta darum, gehört zu werden um jeden Preis.

Trailer: