Using VOD to Amplify Marginalised Voices

Untold stories of artistic expression and emancipation get a powerful platform to connect with new audiences through video on demand and a festival committed to nurturing Kurdish cinema.

“We talk[ed] to our colleagues from London, from BFI, and the feedback we received was quite impressive. You guys are doing a good job [at Shift72]. You are on top of a very sensitive area and providing very, very good quality of work. And we were generally pleased, and everybody was quite relieved.”
Ferhan Stêrk, Festival Director

About London Kurdish Film Festival

Founded in 2001, the London Kurdish Film Festival (LKFF) is the world’s only festival exclusively celebrating Kurdish stories, demonstrating how cinema can be a powerful tool for amplifying the voices of a community. 

With this commitment to Kurdish cinema in mind, LKFF sought a solution to increase access to these stories with the world. To do so, they needed a partner who could help the festival go digital by providing a video-on-demand (VOD) platform and a strong customer service presence to guide them through the process. 
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Opportunity to Shine a Spotlight on Unique Perspectives

Partnering with Shift72, LKFF established a video-on-demand (VOD) platform to continue its mission statement and promote access to Kurdish films to wider audiences. 

• Personalised and readily available customer service.
• An easy-to-use platform for admins and users alike.
• Studio Grade Digital Rights Management (DRM) for security and protection.
• HTML5 video player and Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABS) for high-quality streaming.
• Reporting and analytics to evaluate festival performance.

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Looking Forward

The 2021 London Kurdish Film Festival was a resounding success and saw attendance numbers that rival major international film festivals:

LKFF 2021

13,047 Users
56,348 Sales
45 films

Average Major Festival 

12,053 Users
29,598 Sales
85 films 

Additionally, their users enjoyed 49,000 streams of their 45 films, demonstrating that there’s a broad appetite for Kurdish stories. 

Recognising the success their digital platform has brought their festival, LKFF has continued plans to extend their online presence and share Kurdish films with the world. 

“After this experience with having the global edition [of the festival], we’ve been approached by a few other providers saying,  you know what, we provide a similar thing - a similar service. But trust is important. When you have a good experience with a provider that shows quality [and] good value, you would like to stick [to] that. The service of [the] platform is important.”

Ferhan Stêrk, Festival Director