#resistayol
Rüzgâr Buşki
In the summer of 2013, Rüzgâr Buşki was on his way to Istanbul to make a documentary about his close friend Şevval, a trans-LGBTI activist.
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#resistayol
Documentary Film
Germany,
Turkey
2016
56 minutes
Subtitles:
English
Credits
Producer
Rüzgâr Buşki
Director
Rüzgâr Buşki
Music
Gizem Oruç
Cinematographer
Zara Zandieh
Editor
Rüzgâr Buşki
Animation
Fehmican Gözüm
Script
Senem Donatan, Rüzgâr Buşki
Sound
Ulaş P. Dutlu, Gizem Oruç
In the summer of 2013, Rüzgâr Buşki was on his way to Istanbul to make a documentary about his close friend Şevval, a trans-LGBTI activist. What he didn’t realise was that his visit coincided with the Gezi Park protests, one of the biggest demonstrations in Turkish history. Inevitably, the focus of the documentary shifted in light of these events and we, just like Şevval, participate in this turning point. High spirited and whimsical, “#resistayol” shows us a magical moment in the lives of thousands of people and gives us a better sense of the contribution of the LGBTI community to the human rights movement in Turkey.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Attention!
Onur Bakır, Panagiotis Charamis
The 32-year-old PhD candidate Onur finds himself in a dilemma: Should he pay to be exempted from military service or should he enlist for the compulsory six month period?
Attention!
Credits
Producer
Damla Kırkalı, Onur Bakır
Director
Onur Bakır, Panagiotis Charamis
Music
Kağit Kalem Makas, Berk Özen
Cinematographer
Panagiotis Charamis
Editor
Cem Tenikalp, Panagiotis Charamis, Onur Bakır
Script
Onur Bakır
Sound
Tamer Esin
The 32-year-old PhD candidate Onur finds himself in a dilemma: Should he pay to be exempted from military service or should he enlist for the compulsory six month period? To help him with the decision, he turns the camera on his family and friends who provide mixed responses on the ethical and political aspects of the choice he is about to make. Tackling a controversial subject with a humorous tone, “Attention!” offers an insight into the Turkish psyche with regard to their own armed forces, which remain one of the ten biggest in the world. Onur has only two months to decide: Will he pay his way out or will he go?
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Audience Emancipated: The Struggle for the Emek Movie Theater
Emek Bizim İstanbul Bizim (collective)
The chronicle of a phenomenal fight to save the century-old Emek Theatre.
Audience Emancipated: The Struggle for the Emek Movie Theater
Credits
Producer
Fırat Yücel
Director
Emek Bizim İstanbul Bizim (collective)
The chronicle of a phenomenal fight to save the century-old Emek Theatre, one of Istanbul’s key historical landmarks, from being turned into a shopping mall under the government’s callous urban policies. Starting in 2010, when the venue was scheduled for demolition despite a huge outcry from the public, the struggle for Emek has been a pivotal event in Turkey’s recent political history, one that eventually paved the way for the Gezi Park protests. Using footage collected from various activists who joined the struggle, the film offers a powerful testimony for those who are striving to reclaim the right to their city.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Backward Run
Ayce Kartal
In 2013, millions of people took to the streets to speak out against the Turkish government, which responded with excessive violence.
Backward Run
Credits
Producer
Les Valseurs
Director
Ayce Kartal
Animation
Ayce Kartal
Script
Ayce Kartal
In 2013, millions of people took to the streets to speak out against the Turkish government, which responded with excessive violence. Entirely drawn by hand and completed in the midst of the protests, “Backward Run” is a diary of this extraordinary struggle for justice and freedom amid the eerie silence of mainstream media.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Bağlar
Berke Baş, Melis Birder
“Bağlar” is about those who won’t give in to despair.
Credits
Producer
Berke Baş, Melis Birder, Özgür Doğan, Zeynel Doğan
Director
Berke Baş, Melis Birder
Cinematographer
Berke Baş, Melis Birder, Zeynel Doğan
Editor
Melis Birder, Kim Miille, Ali Ağa, Berke Baş
Sound
Cenker Kökten
For the city of Diyarbakır, usually featured in the news in the context of army operations, explosions, airstrikes, curfews and funerals, the focus on a local basketball team is a rarity. In Bağlar, a district of Diyarbakır, Berke Baş and Melis Birder follow the young players of the local basketball team and their dedicated coach Gökhan Yıldırım over the course of three years, capturing intimate moments of victory, frustration, fear, anger and hope.
At the heart of the Kurdish conflict, the boys appear as vulnerable as the city itself, but determined to succeed, and looking towards a better future. “Bağlar” is about those who won’t give in to despair.
Özge Calafato
At the heart of the Kurdish conflict, the boys appear as vulnerable as the city itself, but determined to succeed, and looking towards a better future. “Bağlar” is about those who won’t give in to despair.
Özge Calafato
Colony
Gürcan Keltek
Since 2007, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus has been conducting excavations in the Kyrenia Mountains with the hopes of returning the remains of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to their respective families.
Colony
Documentary Film
Netherlands,
Turkey
2015
52 minutes
Subtitles:
English
Credits
Producer
Aziz Mullaaziz, Gürcan Keltek
Director
Gürcan Keltek
Cinematographer
Murat Tuncel
Editor
Fırat Gürgen
Sound
Marc van Goethem
Since 2007, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus has been conducting excavations in the Kyrenia Mountains with the hopes of returning the remains of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to their respective families. Skeletons are exhumed; mass graves are uncovered with the help of surviving anonymous witnesses. These individuals have been missing since the tragedies of 1963/64 and 1974.
With staggering camerawork and a poised pace, “Colony” unearths Cyprus’s unsettling memory of conflict. Exploring the issues of trauma, remembrance and reconciliation, the film delves into the intricate relationship between geography and human psychology.
Özge Calafato
With staggering camerawork and a poised pace, “Colony” unearths Cyprus’s unsettling memory of conflict. Exploring the issues of trauma, remembrance and reconciliation, the film delves into the intricate relationship between geography and human psychology.
Özge Calafato
Fidelity
Baran Vardar
Every day, Mehmet travels for an hour to open his teahouse that is frequented by only a handful of people still left in the village.
Fidelity
Credits
Producer
Güven Zararsız
Director
Baran Vardar
Cinematographer
Baran Vardar
Editor
Baran Vardar
Script
Baran Vardar
Sound
Eren Eroy
Every day, Mehmet travels for an hour to open his teahouse that is frequented by only a handful of people still left in the village. The teahouse is his only source of income but there’s much more to keeping it alive. With stunning cinematography and a dreamlike setting, “Fidelity” portrays the forgotten universe of passion and devotion.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Hey Neighbour!
Bingöl Elmas
The ruthless gentrification policies of the government and rapid urban transformation have taken a big toll on Istanbul in the past decade.
Hey Neighbour!
Credits
Producer
Asmin Film Yapım
Director
Bingöl Elmas
Music
Nejla Melike Atalay
Cinematographer
M. Eren Bozbaş, Koray Kesik
Editor
Uğur Hamidoğulları
Script
Bingöl Elmas
Sound
Uğur Hamidoğulları, Özkan Arınkal
Narrator
Hale Akınlı
The ruthless gentrification policies of the government and rapid urban transformation have taken a big toll on Istanbul in the past decade. “Hey Neighbour!” is about two neighbours whose lives couldn’t be further apart. A young woman who enjoys luxury living in one of Istanbul’s newly built tower residence apartments – and an older one who, in her beloved old house in a dilapidated quarter nearby, watches the construction of a new Istanbul around her in shock and apprehension. As the gap between the rich and poor widens, gated communities proliferate, fences are built, trees disappear; the city’s rich history slowly perishes.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
I Remember
Selim Yıldız
On 28 December 2011, 34 civilians, including 19 children, were killed by the Turkish army, who “mistook” them for PKK militants in an airstrike in Uludere district near the Turkish-Iraqi Border.
I Remember
Credits
Producer
Seyithan Çalışan
Director
Selim Yıldız
Cinematographer
Selim Yildiz, Azad Doğru
Editor
Erol Şaybak
Sound
Şiyar Aksoy
On 28 December 2011, 34 civilians, including 19 children, were killed by the Turkish army, who “mistook” them for PKK militants in an airstrike in Uludere district near the Turkish-Iraqi Border. They were carrying smuggled goods – like most people in the region, who have, for generations, earned a living by illegal border trade. “I Remember” follows 14 year old Sinan, who lost his 16 year old brother in the massacre, as he takes over the household. His mother lives in fear and despair, waiting for him to return home safe every time he hits the road.
The film was at the centre of a row over censorship, after having been withdrawn from the Ankara IFF at the last minute in April 2016.
Özge Calafato
The film was at the centre of a row over censorship, after having been withdrawn from the Ankara IFF at the last minute in April 2016.
Özge Calafato
It’s Ari Sir, Not Ali
Deniz Özden
About a world that’s hardly ever talked about: what is it like to do your compulsory military service in Turkey as an Armenian, Greek or Jewish citizen?
It’s Ari Sir, Not Ali
Credits
Producer
Deniz Özden, Ergin Aydın
Director
Deniz Özden
Cinematographer
Deniz Özden
Editor
Deniz Özden
Sound
Burak Taşçilar Taşçılar
About a world that’s hardly ever talked about: what is it like to do your compulsory military service in Turkey as an Armenian, Greek or Jewish citizen? Former soldiers from Turkey’s various religious minorities tell their stories openheartedly and with a wonderful sense of humour.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Mercury
Melis Balcı, Ege Okal
A young gallery assistant goes to dinner with her boss, joined by an art collector, a curator and an institutional director. She has a hard time fitting in.
Mercury
Credits
Producer
Melis Balcı, Ege Okal
Director
Melis Balcı, Ege Okal
Music
Hilmi Bey
Animation
Melis Balcı, Ege Okal
Script
Melis Balcı, Ege Okal
Sound
Uğur Akagündüz
Narrator
Alexander Christie-Miller, Ekmel Ertan, Ege Okal, Lara Ögel, Damla Pehlevan
A young gallery assistant goes to dinner with her boss, joined by an art collector, a curator and an institutional director. She has a hard time fitting in. Entirely hand-drawn and coloured, Melis Balcı and Ege Okal disclose the absurd hierarchies of the art world in this witty and spot on debut film.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Once upon a Time
Kazım Öz
Approximately one million people in Turkey are hired as seasonal workers every year. They are severely exploited, working for very low wages without any insurance. Most of them are Kurdish and underage.
Once upon a Time
Documentary Film
Turkey
2014
81 minutes
Subtitles:
English
Credits
Producer
Kazım Öz
Director
Kazım Öz
Cinematographer
Kazım Öz
Editor
Kazım Öz, Semih Yıldız
Script
Kazım Öz
Sound
Selahattin Mardin
Approximately one million people in Turkey are hired as seasonal workers every year. They are severely exploited, working for very low wages without any insurance. Most of them are Kurdish and underage. “Once Upon a Time” follows the story of one such Kurdish family, who travel from their hometown of Batman in Southeast Turkey to the capital city, Ankara, to grow lettuce as hired hands. During this migration, a sudden love story changes the course of events … Veteran filmmaker Kazım Öz’s documentary offers a personal perspective on the labour conditions and stark class inequalities that persist in today’s Turkey.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
Remake, Remix, Rip-Off. About Copy Culture & Turkish Pop Cinema
Cem Kaya
One of the most comprehensive and entertaining accounts of the Yesilçam Turkish cinema industry of the 1960s and 1970s.
Remake, Remix, Rip-Off. About Copy Culture & Turkish Pop Cinema
Documentary Film
Germany,
Turkey
2014
96 minutes
Subtitles:
English
Credits
Producer
Jochen Laube
Director
Cem Kaya
Cinematographer
Meryem Yavuz, Tan Kurttekin
Editor
Cem Kaya
Script
Cem Kaya
Sound
Gözen Atila, Özkan Coşgun, Emrah Yıldırım, Gökhan Kırtaş, Orçin Inceoğlu
One of the most comprehensive and entertaining accounts of the Yesilçam Turkish cinema industry of the 1960s and 1970s, which once produced up to 350 films per year. “Remake, Remix, Rip-Off” looks at a fascinating era of cheap remakes and baffling adaptations that defy the notions of originality and copyright, released in a rush to keep up with the demands of eager cinema-goers across the country. The result is a hodgepodge of copycat variations of the same old storyboards and Turkish versions of American blockbusters.
The film is a salute to the struggle of those who endured the most absurd circumstances with pragmatism and quick wits – for the love of cinema.
Özge Calafato
The film is a salute to the struggle of those who endured the most absurd circumstances with pragmatism and quick wits – for the love of cinema.
Özge Calafato
The Boy with Camera
İbrahim Yeşilbaş
Jwan is one of the three million Syrians who have fled the war and arrived in Turkey.
The Boy with Camera
Credits
Producer
Hasan Doğan, İbrahim Yeşilbaş
Director
İbrahim Yeşilbaş
Cinematographer
İbrahim Yeşilbaş
Editor
Hasan Doğan
Sound
Çağla Yılmaz, Abdullah Önen
Jwan is one of the three million Syrians who have fled the war and arrived in Turkey. He works in the garment industry but is gripped by an urgent desire to document the aspirations and hardships of the Syrians living in Turkey. As he sets out to make his film, filmmaker İbrahim Yeşilbaş joins him.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
The Eagle’s Tree
Gülnaz Bingöl
In April 1915, amid the mass killings and expulsion of the Armenian population from Anatolia, Gülnaz Bingöl’s great-grandfather witnessed the execution of 99 Armenians by the sacred tree as a militiaman.
The Eagle’s Tree
Credits
Producer
Gülten Bingöl
Director
Gülnaz Bingöl
Music
Serhat Talay
Cinematographer
Ayça Ceylan
Editor
Anıl Çizmecioğlu
Script
Gülnaz Bingöl
Photographer
Gülnaz Bingöl
Narrator
Gülcihan Güneşer
In April 1915, amid the mass killings and expulsion of the Armenian population from Anatolia, Gülnaz Bingöl’s great-grandfather witnessed the execution of 99 Armenians by the sacred tree as a militiaman. Bingöl’s film unveils one of the darkest chapters of modern history through a chilling personal story.
Özge Calafato
Özge Calafato
The Others
Ayşe Polat
Villagers in the east Anatolian region of Van, once the peaceful home of Armenians, Kurds and Turks, talk about the repressed history of a genocide and a complex conflict.
The Others
Documentary Film
Germany,
Turkey
2016
66 minutes
Subtitles:
English
Credits
Producer
Mehmet Aktaş, Said Nur Akkuş, Ayşe Polat
Director
Ayşe Polat
Cinematographer
Meryem Yavuz, Armin Dierolf
Editor
Eyüp Zana Ekinci
Script
Ayşe Polat
Sound
Mustafa Baydemir, Oktay Çağla
Of course reality is more complicated, but the director uses a clever narrative ploy to introduce us to the past of the former Armenian province of Van in Eastern Anatolia. It’s the only place where the Van cat is found, an almost mythical animal and a cultural symbol that unites Armenians, Kurds and Turks alike. It’s via this historical code that the film depicts the sorrowful events of 1915: the Armenian genocide. They are still present today in the memory of the Kurds who took over the villages of the deported – traces the director follows like an archaeologist who uncovers a painful, difficult and suppressed history layer by layer.
What’s left of the days when the people here lived together as neighbours and not as witnesses of ethnic deviation? Dilapidated Armenian churches, pilgrimage sites, and the intricate family stories of survivors assimilated by force. Their descendants still shy from public avowals of their ancestry. Even worse: the Armenians are labelled “the others” even if they are part of one’s own biography, one’s genetic heritage. Factual in style, with quiet, observant camerawork and without pointing the finger at anyone, Ayşe Polat manages to take an authentic look at an open-ended historical conflict with “The Others”.
Matthias Heeder
Nominated for DEFA Sponsoring Prize, Goethe-Institute Documentary Film Prize
What’s left of the days when the people here lived together as neighbours and not as witnesses of ethnic deviation? Dilapidated Armenian churches, pilgrimage sites, and the intricate family stories of survivors assimilated by force. Their descendants still shy from public avowals of their ancestry. Even worse: the Armenians are labelled “the others” even if they are part of one’s own biography, one’s genetic heritage. Factual in style, with quiet, observant camerawork and without pointing the finger at anyone, Ayşe Polat manages to take an authentic look at an open-ended historical conflict with “The Others”.
Matthias Heeder
Nominated for DEFA Sponsoring Prize, Goethe-Institute Documentary Film Prize
