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
Language
Armenian, Russian, Turkish
Premiere status
None
Director
Özcan Alper
Producer
Soner Alper, Mustafa Oguz, Ali Bayraktar, Michael Eckelt, Guillaume de Seille, Mamuka Chikhradze
Screenplay
Özcan Alper
Editing
Özcan Alper
Principal cast
Onur Saylak
Production company
Nar Film Production, Most Productions, Istanbul Dijital, Riva Filmproduktion GmbH, Arizona Productions, ABK Studio