Amsterdam Koerdisch Film Festival
Set during the turbulent 1990s, Bahoz follows Cemal, an 18-year-old from a remote Kurdish village who arrives at Istanbul University hoping simply to study and start a new life. Instead, he steps onto a campus simmering with political tension, where student activism and police surveillance are part of daily life. Reluctantly pulled into a Kurdish revolutionary circle by fellow students Helin, Orhan, and Rojda, Cemal begins a journey of political awakening and personal discovery. As the friends read, debate, fall in love, and imagine a different future, they grow closer while the pressure around them intensifies. Internal conflicts and the tightening grip of the authorities gradually erode their idealism. Through Cemal’s coming-of-age, Bahoz captures a generation caught between hope and repression, portraying the emotional and political cost of believing in revolution.
