Öykü Dilara Keskin/ JINHA

ISTANBUL - A new documentary called "New Life" ("Nû Jîn") tells the story of three YPJ woman fighters through footage shot during the resisance in Kobanê. Director Veysi Altay spoke with JINHA about the resistance that inspired the film.

The Kurdish city of Kobanê became famous around the world for the resistance that Kurdish fighters mounted against a months-long Daesh siege in 2014-2015. It was the women fighters of the YPJ (Women's Protection Units) who quickly emerged as the leaders of the resistance.

The documentary "New Life," to debut this week at a free showing in Istanbul, follows the lives of three YPJ fighters during wartime. The film's tagline--"Woman is life. Life is resistance. And resistance is Kobanê"--comes from an interview with 18-year-old fighter Elif Kobanê, made while the vast majority of the city was in Daesh hands. Director Veysi Altay explained the origins of the documentary to JINHA.

"We didn't go [to Kobanê] to shoot a documentary," said Veysi. "The fact is, there was a war and an attack on Kobanê. We went to see what we could do." Veysi and his team were among the few people documenting the war from inside the besieged city.

"For things in Kobanê not to affect you was impossible," said Veysi. "But one of the things that affected me the most was the women's determination and attitude. The YPJ fighters' attitude played a huge role, as everyone knows.

"We were shooting the attacks and the resistance every day, and trying to broadcast them out via the free press," said Veysi, referring to the largely Kurdish press organizations that provided live updates from inside Kobanê. "Of course, you're in the middle of a war. You're unprotected. For the forces attacking the YPG/YPJ, everyone was an enemy, and we were enemies too. So working was hard."

Two of the three YPJ fighters Veysi was following died in the course of the resistance. One of them was Viyan Peyman, a dengbêj (Kurdish bard) and YPJ fighter. When Viyan fell in battle, Veysi made the decision to develop his footage into a documentary dedicated to the fighters' memory.

The film's tagline, Veysi explained, came from an interview that 18-year-old fighter Elif Kobanê recorded from the small area of the city that was still under control of the YPJ and YPG, at the height of Daesh' advance. Elif's words: "Woman is life. Life is resistance. And resistance is Kobanê."

"In a time when everyone was saying Kobanê has fallen, it's about to fall, Elif used that slogan," said Veysi. "She was sure that Kobanê would not fall. She was completely determined. And she had decided that she would never abandon Kobanê."

The first showing of "New Life" will take place at the Şişli Municipal Culture Center in Istanbul at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 3. The film will be shown in Kurdish with Turkish subtitles.

(en/dc/fk/cm)