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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
[email protected]+905332639896
TurkeyZumrut [email protected]+905364866366
InternationalDany de Seille
[email protected]+33678180105
M İ N T A Ş F I L M VOLKAN SÜT
PUBLICITY
SALES
AslıErdem
+905332639896
Turkey
ZumrutBurul
+905364866366
International
DanydeSeille
+33678180105
M İ N T A Ş F I L M VOLKAN SÜT
