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song mymotherklama dayîka min

of

by EROL MİNTAŞ

Director & Script: ErolMintaş

Cast: Feyyaz Duman (Ali)

Zübeyde Ronahi (Nigar)

Nesrin Cavadzade (Zeynep)

Aziz Çapkurt (Teacher)

Cüneyt Yalaz (School Principal)

Mehmet Ünal (Mustafa)

Sabiha Bozan (Sanem)

Ferit Kaya (Police Captain)

İncinurDaşdemir(Merve)

İbrahimTurgay(BazaarSeller)

SelahattinBulut(BookshopOwner)

Enginay Gültekin (Doctor)

RewşanÇeliker(Mizgin)

Producers: AslıErdem,ErolMintaş

Co-Producers: GuillaumedeSeille,MehmetAktaş

DOP: George Chiper-Lillemark

Art Director: İsmailDurmaz

Music: BaşarÜnder

Sound: FatihAydoğdu

Editing: Alexandru Radu

Line Producer: KaanKurbanoğlu

Assistant Director: Burak Müjdeci

2014•103min.•Turkey,France,Germany•Kurdish,Turkish•1:1.85•Color•5.1•DCPWorldPremiere:20thSarajevoFilmFestival–FeatureFilmCompetition(2014)www.facebook.com/anneminsarkisifilm•www.twitter.com/AnneminSarkisi

song of my mother klama dayîka min

M İ N T A Ş F I L M VOLKAN SÜT

S Y N O P S I S

YoungteacherAliliveswithhisagingmotherNigarinIstanbul’sTarlabaşıdistrict;hometomanyKurdishimmigrantssincethe90’s.Whentheongoinggentrificationoftheoldcityforcesthemtomoveforasecondtime,theyendupinthesoullessconcretedesertofthecity’sfurthestoutskirts.NigarisconvincedthatheroldneighbourshaveallmovedbacktotheirvillageinEasternTurkey.Everymorningshepacksherbelongingsandsetsouttoreturntohervillage.Sheroamsthecity,insearchofhervillageandinsearchofthesongthatkeepsreturninginherdreams.AllAlicandoisbekindtoher;hebuyshergifts,feedshersweets,takesheronmotorcycleridesandtriestohelphismotherfindthatsong.MeanwhileAlidiscoversthathisgirlfriendispregnantandthatheisnotreadytobecomeafather.Tornbetweenthetwowomeninhislife,Alihastochoosehisownpath.

I N T E R V I E W W I T H T H E D I R E C T O RE R O L M İ N TA Ş

YourshortfilmswerethestartoftheMotherandSonTrilogy.“SongofMyMother”isthelastpartofthetrilogy.Howdidthisideacometolife?Canyoutellusaboutthestorybehindyourshortfilmsaswell?

Onawinternight,Ihadadream…therewasayoungmanrushinghisbedriddenmothertothedoctorbypushingheronhisgarbagecart.ItwassnowingwhenIwokeupandacrossmyhousetherewasagarbagecartlyingundersnow.Thisimagechasedmeforsometimeafterthatdayupuntilapointwherethelinebetweenrealityanddreambecameblurry.

Then, I started thinking about mothers and sons. This is how the story of my first short film

“Butimar”cametolife.Iwrotethescriptandshowedittomyprofessor.HesuggestedthatIwatch

Sokurov’s“MotherandSon”and“BalladofNarayama”.Iwasastonishedby“BalladofNarayama”,

butitwasquitedifferentfrommystory.However,itcrushedmetoseethesimilaritiesbetweenmy

ideaandSokurov’sfilm.Afterthat,Istoppedworkingonthefilmforawhile,butIcouldn’tkeepmy

mindawayfromtheimageofthegarbagepapercollectormantakinghismotherforarideinthe

cityonhiscart.So,IdecidedtopursuethisstoryandinevitablyincludingareferencetoSokurov.

n“Butimar”,themanfindsaDVDof“MotherandSon”inthegarbage.Hewatchesitrightbefore

findinghismotherdead.

“Butimar”wasthefirststoryofthetrilogy.WhileIwasworkingonit,Iwasalreadythinkingabouttwomorestories.Thefirstseedsofmysecondshortfilm“Snow”anddebutfilm“SongofMyMother”werethrownatthattime.ImetmyproducerAslıErdemaftermyfirstshortfilmandworkedtogethersincethen.

Canyouexplainthemotherandsonstorybehind“SongofMyMother”?HowwasthemothercharacterNigarinspired?

Buildingisalwaysharderthandestroying...Iwitnessedthissincemychildhood.Mymotherusedtoriphand-knitsweatersandknitthemagain.Shewouldworkformonthsonknittingsomething,butitwouldonlytakehalfanhourtoripitapart.Shewouldsigh…Thisishowlifeis:yourlongandhardworkmaybedestroyedinsecondswithaflipofyourhand.

IncontemporaryIstanbul,displacedKurdishpopulationsfromtheruralareasofEasternTurkeybyforcedimmigrationoftenformcommunitiesaccordingtovillages(orareas)theycomefrom.Theytrytopreservetheirnativelanguageandculturalheritage.Thisstorywasinspiredbymyconversationswithanoldwomaninsuchanassociation.Oneofhersonswaslostbythestateunderpolicecustody,theotherhaddiedonthemountains,andherotherthreesonswereinprison.Shetoldmeintearshowsheislongingforhervillage.Herhusbandhadlosthismind.Hewasaskingmeiftheirsonhadreturnedfromthemountains.Afterthatday,IknewIhadtomakethisfilm.

ThenImetmanywomenaroundTarlabaşı,oneofthegentrifiedneighborhoodsinIstanbul.PeoplehadmovedtocertainneighbourhoodsinIstanbulafterforcedimmigration30yearsago.Theyhavebeenbuildingalifeandacommunityinthoseneighbourhoodsever since. Theywere crushedwhen their livesaredismantledonemoretime in Istanbul.Asecondforcedimmigrationcausedthemtofallintonostalgia.Ipersonallyknewsomepeople,likeNigar,whobizarrely

diedshortafterexperiencingsuchatrauma.ThisisbasicallyhowNigar’sstorywascreated.Tossedasidetotheoutskirtsofthecitytoaremotedistrict,Nigarexperiencesdifficultiestoadjusttohernewenvironment.Fromthenonshedreamsnothingbuttogobacktoheroldvillage.

Themaininspirationofthisfilmispeople’sstoriesbehindthecurtainsofachangingandmodernizingcity.ThefilmisbasedonanoldKurdishwoman,Nigar,whoisunabletoformanattachmentwiththechangingfaceofİstanbul,herlongingforhervillageandaonceagaingettingintouchwiththepast.

Culturalidentityandbelongingaretwoverystrongthemesinthisfilm.Generationsseemtointerpretthemdifferently.So,howaretheyounggenerationsrepresentedaroundthesethemes?HowistheirrelationshipwiththepastandKurdishidentity?

Then there are the kids… Packed one day behind immigration trucks like furniture, looking up to their parents infear,unawareofhowmuchpainadultsarecapableofcausingeachother.Thesekidsarrivedinbigcitiesafterforcedimmigration,buttheygrewupwiththeirparents’painfulstories.Somecouldn’tadapttolifeinthecity,someendeduponthestreets,andsomewereabletogeteducation.

Hearingabout the storiesof youngergenerations,Ali’s character started to shape inmymind. Inaway,Ali is stuckbetweenthepastandthefuture.Heisnotdetachedfromhispastbutnotstuckthereeither.Ontheotherhand,heisalsonotabletoovercomehisanxietyandtakestrongdecisionsaboutthefuture.AsIhavementionedbefore,buildingisalwaysharderthandestroying,sobuildingalifeandastrongfutureonapastofpainandtraumaisnoteasyforAli.

Whilewritingthescript,languagewasalsoaveryimportantissueforme.AliteachesTurkishinanelementaryschooltomakealivinginİstanbul,butatthesametimehevolunteerstoteachKurdishlanguagetolittlekidsinhisneighbourhood.Hetriestopreservehismother’slegacythroughdeliveringKurdishtoyoungergenerations.Healsowantstoentertainthe kidsby telling fairytales – just likehis teacherused to.As a result,Ali has twodifferentworlds: one inKurdishwithwhichhecommunicateswithhismotherandthatstrengthenshisrootsandtheotherinTurkishwithhisfriends,literaturecirclesandhisassimilatedKurdishgirlfriend.

ZeynepisacharacterwhoalsocametoIstanbulafterforcedimmigrationandgrewupthere,butunlikeAlishedidnotfightagainstassimilation.BeingwithAli, she isalsofindingaway toconnectwithherpast, identity,andhernativelanguagethatsheperhapsdeliberatelychosetostayawayinthepast.ThiscouldbethereasonthatsheisputtingupwithAli’sinconsiderateattitudesandforherpersistencetobuildafuturetogetherwithhim.

Ali’sdailylifeisburdenedwithhismother’sproblems.Whilehewantstofollowhisdreamsinthecity,healsotriestoworkontheirproblemswithhisgirlfriendZeynep.AliimaginesafuturetogetherbothwithhismotherandZeynep,but

healsowantstointegratehisowndreamsintothisfuture.

“SongofMyMother”startswithaboldscenefromthepastanditstartsagaininİstanbulwithamove.İstanbuliscurrentlyundergoingabigconstructionthatwasthestartingpointforGeziprotestsaswell.CanyouexplainmoreaboutthelinkbetweengentrificationandforcedimmigrationfortheKurdishcommunity?

CertaincitiesinTurkeybecamemetropolisesafterthepost-warKurdishimmigrationandthemigrationfromAnatoliaduetoeconomicconditions.However,thisprocesshappenedrandomlyandinaverymessyway.Shantytownsandillegalhouseswerebuiltquitefast.Thecityfoundationandtheskylinechangedrapidly.

Now,inthenameofcorrectingthis,people’slivesaredestroyedandtheirhousestorndown.Gentrificationisinterpretedaspoliceenteringaneighbourhoodwithbulldozers,emptying itsresidentsandbuildingnewuglyconcretebuildingsinstead.Gentrificationcausesmuchdestruction,becauseitisnotprservingthecultureandthewayoflifeinthatarea.

Tarlabaşı has been one of the hot spots of gentrification in İstanbul. Our film may be one of the last historicaldocumentationsoftheneighbourhoodbeforeitlosesitsculturalandhistoricaluniquenessforever.NigarhasmovedtoTarlabaşıafterhervillagehasbeenburnedinthe90’s.For30years,shehasconvincedherselfthatthisishernewhomeandsupportedeachotherwithherneighoursintoughconditions.AsecondforcedmovefromtheirnewneighbourhoodcausesNigartofeel likesheis inexile.Eventhoughtheyaremovingtoanewdistricttogetherwithothervictimsofgentrification,herneighboursareallspreadthroughthecity.TheyarriveatEsenyurt:35kmawayfromthecitycenterwiththebiggestconstructionprojectsinthecity.HighskyscrapersandgatedcommunitieshavereplacedotherformofneighbourhoodsinEsenyurt.Nigarfeelsliterallylikeabirdinacage.

Nigar’sdreamandthesongthesheissearchingforislikeanostalgiatothepast.Inthewholefilm,youareusingDengbejmusicquiteoften.CanyouelaboratemoreonDengbejswithrelationtothisfilm?

ThereisagreatphrasebyAbbasKiarostami:“Whenyoutakeatreethatisrootedintheground,andtransferitfromoneplacetoanother,thetreewillnolongerbearfruit.Andifitdoes,thefruitwillnotbeasgoodasitwasinitsoriginalplace.Thisisaruleofnature.IthinkifIhadleftmycountry,Iwouldbethesameasthetree.”

Nigarisexactlythesameasthattree.Thistreeisgloriousbutitisalldriedupnow.HeronlypossibilitytoblossomistheDengbejimageinhermind.ShehangsontothisideaoffindingDengbejSeydoyeSilo…asongthatperhapsneverexistedorisaforgottenarchaicechofromthepast.Approximately30yearsago,performingorrecordingsongsintheKurdishlanguagewasbannedinTurkey,buttherewerealwaysavailableundergroundradiostationsandrecordings.

DengbejactuallyhasdoublemeaninginKurdish.Otherthanitsmusicalmeaning,italsomeansstorytellingorlikebeingamessenger.So,thisDengbejmusiccouldbeconsideredasamessengeroftheeternaljourneythatNigarwillbetakingverysoon.

Canyoutellusaboutthecamerawork?Visuallyitisdifferentfromyourshortfilms.HowdidyouworkwithyourDOPonthisfilm?

IworkedwithGeorgeChiper-Lillemark.Ishutmylastshortfilm“Snow”withhimaswell.IhavesharedthestorywithGeorgeabouttwoyearsagoandwedecidedtoworktogetheragain.Fromthestart,weknewthatthisstoryhadspecificlocationsthatrequiredadifferentapproach.Mostoftheshootingswerecarriedoutwithintheauthenticurbantextureof İstanbul: bringing togetheremptiedneighbourhoods and slums suchas Tarlabaşı and thenew rising skyscrapers,modernbusinesscenters,andthenewsilhouetteoftheoutskirtsofthecitysuchasEsenyurt.Thecontrastofthesetwosettingswasusedasthemainvisualmaterial.Differenttomyshorts,whilewewerethinkingonthevisuallanguageofthisstorywithGeorge,wechosetouseafollowingcamera.Mainly,weintendedthisdecisiontomakecontrastinthedifferentrhythmsofNigarandAli’slivestodeliverthestoryinthebestway.Nigarisusuallyportrayedintheclosedornarrowspaces,morestaticbutcameraisontheshoulder.Thisshouldgivetheaudienceafeelingofbeingstuckinsmallspaces.Ali,ontheotherhand,isalwaysontherun,soisthecamera,travelingwithhimindifferentpartsoftown,tryingtofinditsway,havingnotimetobreathe.

E R O L M İ N TA ŞD I R E C T O R

Hewasborn inKars,Turkey in1983.AftergraduatingfromMarmaraUniversity,DepartmentofComputerandTeachingTechnologies,hecompletedhisgraduatestudiesincinema.HewrotehisthesisaboutthecinemaofTarkovsky.In2008,hisfirstshortfilmButimarwasscreenedinvariousfilmfestivalsandreceivedfourawardsinTurkey.Mintaş’ssecondshortSnow,completedin2010,receivedtheGoldenOrangeforbestfilminAntalyaFilmFestivalthatisoneofthemostprestigiousawardsinTurkey.Snowhascompetedinvariousfilmfestivals(MontpellierFF,BostonTurkishFF,TimishortFF,BrnoSixteenFF,TangierMediterraneanShortFF,IstanbulIFF,!fIstanbulIndependentFF)inthecountryandaroundtheworldandwoneightdifferentawards.HisdebutfeatureSong of My Motherwasselectedforco-productionmarketsandwork-in-progresssectionsinMeetingsontheBridgeatIstanbulIFF,AgoraatThessalonikiIFF,SundanceScriptLabat!fIstanbul.Itreceivedthepost-productionanddistributionawardsatMeetingsontheBridge.ThefilmwassupportedbyTurkishMinistryofCultureandCNCCinemaduMonde.

FILMOGRAPHY

2014 Song of My Mother (Klama Dayika Min)2010Snow(Berf)2008Butimar

A S L I E R D E MP R O D U C E R

Born in Istanbul in 1984, Aslı Erdem graduated from Robert College High School. She studied

CulturalStudiesatSabancıUniversityandcompletedhergraduatestudiesatBoğaziçiUniversity.

SheproducedwithRomaniatheGoldenOrange-winningshortfilmSnowdirectedbyErolMintaş.

The short film received eight different awards in the country and internationally. She was an

AssociateProducerontheEurimages-supportedfilmIn Flameswith110,000viewersandreleased

insevencountries.SheproducedMelisaÖnel’sdebutfeatureSeaburners that premiered in 2014

BerlinaleForum2014.AslırecentlycompletedSong of My Mother,thefirstfeaturebyErolMintaş,

supportedbyTurkishMinistryofCultureandCNCCinemaduMonde.ThefilmisaTurkish-French-

German co-production. She is currentlyworking on the acclaimed director Semih Kaplanoğlu’s

new featureGrain, a four-country co-productionbetweenTurkey-Germany-France-Sweden.Aslı

wasselectedforEAVEEuropeanProducersWorkshop2014.SheisamemberoftheNewCinema

Movement(YeniSinemaHareketi)inTurkeycomposedofleadingindustryprofessionals.

FILMOGRAPHY

2014SongofMyMother(KlamaDayikaMin)byErolMintaş

2014Seaburners(KumunTadı)byMelisaÖnel

2011InFlames(YangınVar)byMuratSaraçoğlu

2010Snow(Berf)byErolMintaş

C O - P R O D U C E R S

ArizonaProductions[FR]Paris-basedArizonaProductionswascreatedbyGuillaumedeSeilleandRémiRoytoproduceart-housefeaturefilmsmainlydirectedbyemergingtalents;BénédicteThomasishandlingdomestictheatricaldistributionformostofthefilmsandacoupleofacquisitionseveryyear.

Mîtosfilm[GER]Mîtosfilmisan independentBerlin-basedproductioncompanywhichaimstosupportauthenticstorytelling, producing thought-provoking feature and documentary films. From 2004 to 2011mîtosfilmreleased16arthousefilmsasadistributorfortheGermancinema-theatres.

PUBLICITY

SALESAslıErdem

info@aslierdem.net+905332639896

TurkeyZumrut Burulinfo@zumrutburul.com+905364866366

InternationalDany de Seille

dany@deseille.info+33678180105

M İ N T A Ş F I L M VOLKAN SÜT

PUBLICITY

SALES

AslıErdem

info@aslierdem.net

+905332639896

Turkey

ZumrutBurul

info@zumrutburul.com

+905364866366

International

DanydeSeille

dany@deseille.info

+33678180105

M İ N T A Ş F I L M VOLKAN SÜT