Memories of the Wind

For left-wing dissidents in Turkey, the situation got increasingly dire in the course of World War II. The right-wing Turkish government persecuted minorities and intellectuals. For instance, Aram, an Armenian artist who works for a Communist newspaper. In 1942 he has to hurriedly flee Istanbul, ending up in a small village on the border with Georgia (then still part of the Soviet Union), where he is given shelter by a couple: the young Meryem and the rather older Mikahil. Aram experiences being in hiding as imprisonment, even though he gradually develops a strong bond with Meryem, who in turn is imprisoned in her marriage. An escape over the border looks like their only salvation.
In this melancholy film, writer/director Özcan Alper looks at part of Turkish history that has had little attention until now. He shows the drastic personal consequences of political oppression. A gripping story about survival.