TEHRAN – The Iranian short documentary “Nomad Girl” will be competing in the OKO - International Ethnographic Film Festival.

Due to the outbreak of war on February 24, the third edition of the Ukrainian festival will take place in Torun, Poland from November 13 to 18. 

Directed by Ruhollah Akbari, “Nomad Girl” follows the daughter of one of the nomadic tribes, who, despite all the problems caused by the traditions and common beliefs about girls exercising, achieves much success in kickboxing. She tries to persuade the families of the girls in the area to encourage them to attend training classes in a nomad “black tent”.

The documentary was also screened at the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, which took place in September in the capital of Tatarstan, a semi-autonomous region in southwest Russia.

The OKO ethnographic film festival will be organized with the support of Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.

The organizers have also initiated the program “OKO Travels”, screening Ukrainian films that reflect various aspects of the OKO homeland, its rich culture and history in Helsinki, Sofia and, finally, in Bolgrad, the home to the festival. 

This program will be organized with the motto “Look at Ukraine with New Eyes!”

“If you cannot come to Ukraine now and see everything with your own eyes, then Ukraine will come to you,” Tetyana Staneva, the director of the festival said. 

“With films, stories, culture, pain and joy, so that you have the opportunity to look at Ukraine with different eyes,” she added. 

She noted that the program aims to strengthen the voice of Ukraine, embody the ideas of cultural diplomacy and demonstrate the power of media resistance. 

“Our culture is our weapon, and movies are our ammunition. This is what Ukraine is fighting for and what it is fighting for on the cultural front. The Ukrainian films of our program, our ‘cartridges’, hit straight to the heart and show the documented truth about the history of Ukraine, its present and hopes for the future,” Staneva said.

Photo: A scene from “Nomad Girl” directed by Ruhollah Akbari.

MMS/YAW