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.
Film details
- Countries of production
- France, Georgia, Germany, Turkey
- Year
- 2015
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2016
- Length
- 126"
- Medium/Format
- DCP
You may also like this
-
Yi-Ren (The Person of Whom I Think)
A love letter in collage style, consisting of found footage and a strange reading of Kang-Chien Chui’s work, karaoke and diary videos.
-
11 Minutes
Exciting mosaic drama centred on a budding actress, an American filmmaker, a jealous husband and a motorbike courier. About the chaos that rules li
-
Free in Deed
In the often ethnically coloured American storefront churches, the faithful piously pray for miracles. So does a single mother, who hopes a ministe