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FILMS THAT MAKE NOISE – A Free Daughter of a Free Kyrgyzstan

In collaboration with Movies that Matter

Wednesday 25 March 2026

A Free Daughter of Free Kyrgyzstan tells the story of the young Kyrgyz singer Zere Asylbek. With her courageous and independent voice, she inspires solidarity among women. At the same time, her outspoken and combative lyrics provoke fierce criticism and threats. Zere and her family worry: can she withstand the mental pressure?

After the screening, moderator Jesse Evers will engage in a conversation with Zere Asylbek and the audience.
The screening takes place in GR8 during the Movies That Matter Festival 2026.

archive
  • €12,50
  • GR8
  • 19:30
  • 20:00
Newsletter

  • Zere Asylbek

    Artist and activist

    Zere (Zere Asylbek) is a multidisciplinary artist from Kyrgyzstan who brings together music, theatre, and performance in work that explores themes of identity, gender, and social justice. In 2018, she gained international recognition with her feminist manifesto Kyz, immediately positioning herself as a bold and urgent voice within the Central Asian art scene. With her albums EKÉK (2021) and Men Kaidamyn (Where Am I) (2023), she deepens and expands her artistic practice. Her work moves between experimental pop, performance art, and personal storytelling, questioning social structures while creating space for new narratives.

    In 2020, she co-founded the feminist movement #Jetishet, actively advocating for gender equality in Kyrgyzstan and beyond. Her engagement extends to international stages: in 2019, she performed at UN Women’s “I Am Generation Equality” Forum in Geneva. In 2024, she was selected as a OneBeat 13 Fellow (USA), joining a global network of artists fostering intercultural collaboration and social engagement through music. Zere is regarded as a leading cultural voice who inseparably connects art and activism.

  • Jesse Evers

    Moderator, musician and advisor

    Jesse Evers moves between policy and poetry. As a musician with Meyendel, he sings about what grates and unsettles; as a consultant at TwynstraGudde, he helps governments avoid losing — or regain — the trust of their citizens. He previously taught Conflict Studies at the University of Amsterdam and studied at Sciences Po in Paris, focusing on African Studies and international cooperation. Always curious about the power of communities in times of major social change.

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Films that Make Noise is a film series in collaboration with Movies that Matter and part of the activist program line PUSH.
PUSH is the new umbrella under which PAARD brings together its socially engaged, critical, progressive and politically committed programming. As the leading pop venue in the city of power, politics, peace, (war) justice and protest — just a few hundred meters from the Binnenhof — PUSH provides the soundtrack to social change. Movies that Matter uses film to make human rights and social justice visible and open for discussion.

More info: PAARD.NL/PUSH