We are pleased to introduce the jury of the 16th Kurdish Film Festival Berlin.
This year, Lisa Çalan, Zübeyde Bulut and Nûka Malin Bäumker will evaluate the submitted short films and jointly select the award winners. The three jury members bring diverse perspectives from film studies, acting, directing, festival work and cultural engagement.
Their diverse experiences and personal connections to Kurdish cinema enrich the engagement with the films and make the jury an important part of our festival.
From 25 September to 1 October 2026, the 16th Kurdish Film Festival Berlin will once again present a diverse programme of Kurdish feature films, documentaries and short films, alongside a range of other events.
We look forward to an exciting festival and to the jury's decisions!
Lisa Çalan
Lisa Çalan was born in Diyarbakır in 1988 and works as a director, actress, festival organiser and activist. She studied Kurdish cinema at the Aram Tigran Conservatory. Her short film Zimanê Çîya was screened as part of the Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and received the “Spirit of Cinema Award” at the International Film Festival of Kerala in 2022. Çalan also directed the 360° VR film Siseban and is involved in international feminist and artistic initiatives. Her work connects cinema with cultural memory, human rights and feminist perspectives.
Zübeyde Bulut
Zübeyde Bulut was born in Beşiri, Turkey, in 1986 and lives in Germany. She is a state-certified actress for film, television and theatre and has appeared in numerous theatre, short film and feature film productions. She gained international recognition for her role in Eva Husson’s Girls of the Sun, which premiered at Cannes in 2018. She has previously served as a jury member at Kurdish film festivals in Duhok, Berlin and Hamburg. She can currently be seen in Polizeiruf 110 – Die Unerhörten.
Nûka Malin Bäumker
Nûka Malin Bäumker is of Kurdish-German background and grew up in Berlin. She studies film studies and business administration and has gained practical experience at Mîtosfilm and arthood. As a 3rd AD, she worked on the production of Huriya. Since 2026, she has been managing post-production for Mîtosfilm’s project The Postman, while also developing her own short film screenplay. Her combination of academic knowledge in film studies, practical filmmaking experience and business expertise, together with her engagement with Kurdish identity and history, shapes her perspective on Kurdish cinema.
