Hold and Release

A father disappears, literally flying away. What to do when a parent suffers from mental illness? A tender father-daughter reconciliation in poetic images.

The filmmaker captures daily life in her grandparents’ home between painting nails, napping and ironing. Her images are filled with deep emotional attachment and the absurdity of aging.

A stepfather and daughter in a Turkish region that was once a refuge for Kurds and Alevis. He tells her of the forbidden language of his childhood and diaspora experiences.

Between minesweeper and family photos, the filmmaker faces the grief over the grandfather with radical honesty. A rough yet deeply tender work of remembrance.

Starlings circle in flocks above the retirement home. What does the end of life feel like? A man grows the first feathers and senses that he is gradually drifting from this world.