They belong to the armed wing of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is also an active guerrilla movement. The mission of these female fighters? Defend Kurdish territory in Iraq and Syria, and defeat ISIS (the armed militants of the so-called Islamic State group), all while embodying a revolutionary ideal advocating female empowerment. As filmmaker Zaynê Akyol follows their highly regimented lives, seasoned fighters like Rojen and Sozdar openly share with us their most intimate thoughts and dreams. Even as fighting against ISIS intensifies in the Middle East, these women bravely continue their battle against barbarism. Offering a window into this largely unknown world, Gulîstan, Land of Roses exposes the hidden face of this highly mediatized war: the female, feminist face of a revolutionary group united by a common vision of freedom.
Mara, a young Romanian woman, has just moved to the US with Dragos, her 9-year-old son, marrying Daniel, an American she has met only a few months ago. The film follows her through a series of revealing encounters during one day, from her problems of babysitting, her unplanned and uncomfortable meeting with a US. immigration official, to dealing with the police about her son she had to leave in a motel room and the bank issue for a loan with her husband.
The wild 'auto-gestioned- prison of Abidjan becomes the theatre of a fight for power, as the old 'chief' of the prison must submit his power, due to illness. This last night of the blood full moon a newcomer assumes the role of the storyteller, not knowing that this will end to his own death. To stay alive, he begins to tell the story of a fellow criminal in the slum of Abidjan, and how he was driven to his death.