Past Mission Statement for WAFF Debut 2026

The West Asian Film Festival Vienna is dedicated to creating a dynamic platform for contemporary cinema from West Asia and neighboring cultural regions. Premiering at the METRO Kinokulturhaus, the festival establishes a new space for cinematic engagement with the social, political, and aesthetic questions emerging from a region whose cultural diversity and artistic expressions are too often presented in oversimplified ways. The festival adopts the term “West Asia” as a geographically grounded designation that resists reductive geopolitical framings and foregrounds the plurality of histories, identities, and cultural expressions it seeks to engage.

Rooted in rich and deep-seated cultural histories, the people of West Asia continue to assert resilience, joy and hope despite tensions shaped by oppression, violence, and interventions by both internal forces and Eastern and Western powers. Grounded in these histories, they aspire to liberation and dignity. The festival honors this complexity by foregrounding artistic practices that make the transformative power of cinema tangible.

The program brings together films from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Rojava, and Rojhelat. Ranging from documentary reflection to experimental and poetic narratives, the selected works open up multifaceted fields of action, envision diverse social futures, and generate spaces for reflection and discussion.

Beyond the screen, the festival fosters meaningful exchange through artist talks, lectures, workshops, and a welcome reception, creating sustained dialogue between filmmakers and audiences. In doing so, the West Asian Film Festival Vienna positions itself not only as a showcase of cinema, but as a forum for encounter, critical inquiry, and collective imagination.