Kosovo’s biggest film festival shines a spotlight on women
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Kosovo’s [1]premier International Documentary and Short Film Festival, known as Dokufest, treated audiences to a special focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment this year.
Held from 3-11 August, under the theme of ‘Reflections’, a portion of this year’s programme was dedicated to the empowerment of women. The festival also included a special program of experimental cinema where all the filmmakers were women.
“In a year marked with the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, we are extremely happy that our film programme features 210 women participants as directors and producers,” read Dokufest’s official statement on the role of women in the festival. “No less than 87 women directors have their films at the festival, a sheer testament to the ‘Future is a Girl’ slogan that we so proudly launched last year.” This was visibly evident during the event as many women were also part of panels that discussed the documentaries and their social impact.
UN Women and the UN Kosovo Team promoted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at this year’s festival with a special installation on SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The installation invited festival attendees to reflect on how socially constructed gender roles shaped people’s lives.
It comprised of a large metal-framed mirror with magnetic labels communicating different societal expectations for males and females. When people looked into the mirror, they saw themselves surrounded by these expectations, highlighting how stereotypes are a barrier to gender equality. A sticker on the mirror read: “WARNING: Reflections in this mirror may be distorted by socially constructed ideas of gender”.
Visitors interacted with the mirror, sparking many deep discussions with UN Women representatives about the prevalence of gender stereotypes in everyday life in Kosovo.
Erta Bata, a Dokufest attendee said, “Where we live, especially in Prizren, we need more initiatives like the gender reflection mirror to help us move closer to gender equality. It is wrong that society expects so much and imposes so many gender roles on women. Women shouldn’t be told that they can’t achieve anything just because they are women.”
Her opinion on gender norms was echoed countless times by those who stopped by the mirror.
Flora Macula, Head of office at UN Women Kosovo, was delighted with the event and expressed the importance of the SDG 5 installation. “It was wonderful to see so many people actively engaging in learning about the SDGs,” she said. “Knowing that young women and men are standing up against gender inequalities in Kosovo is extremely encouraging for the future of this society.”
Dokufest is Kosovo’s largest film festival. Every year the event brings to cinemas and pop-up venues around the historic city center of Prizren international and domestic documentaries, which explore important topics such as human rights, conservation, and gender equality. With a selection of more than 200 handpicked films from around the world, the festival is a vibrant social and educational experience.
[1] All references to Kosovo on this website shall be understood to be in full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).