Film inspired by a column by Hrant Dink
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 16, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Volunteer artists have gathered to adapt Agos’ late editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s article 'Kertenkele,' published in daily Birgün in October 2004 to the silver screen. The film has been directed by national and international award-winning documentary maker Özgür Arık
Volunteer actors and actresses coming together under the slogan, "Our struggle is until this country becomes the land of brotherhoodÉ," have shot a 32-minute short film in honor of slain journalist Hrant Dink.
The product of months of work the film, "Kertenkel" (Lizard), was inspired by a column published in daily Birgün in October 2004 written by Agos editor-in-chief Dink, who was assassinated on Jan. 19, 2007.
Özgür Arık, a documentary maker who holds many national and international awards, directed the film. The film’s budget was 40,000 Turkish liras, provided by the Green Agency and it was shot in the Mediterranean city of Antalya.
Although the film cannot find a movie theater that will screen it, there are plans to show it to audiences this year in many national and international film festivals, including the International Istanbul Film Festival that will be organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, or IKSV, in April. One of the most important planned destinations for the film is the International Golden Apricot Film Festival to be organized in Armenian capital, Yerevan in July. From Feb. 17, the film will be screened with English and Turkish subtitles at the Nazım Hikmet Culture Center on Istanbul’s Asian side in Kadıköy.
"Being inspired by the painful events Armenians went through and with the words of Dink, this film aims to draw attention to the pain people are experiencing throughout the world. Unfortunately, we fight to live in an environment in which people are moving away from each other and becoming enemies," said Arık.
Arık said the film was based around a character named Abdullah. "A lizard, when it feels danger, it shelters in the smallest hole it can find, just like Abdullah." He said the content of the story was traumatic, "Yes, there is violence in the story but it is based on causality. We wanted to highlight once again the cost of excess in this film."
"I have read almost all articles written by Dink," said Arık. He said "Lizard" was very important to him, "As soon as I took the paper and started reading the article, scenes from the film took shape in my mind."
Supporting characters from local to general
Even though Arık sticks to the original story in the film, he also backs it up with supporting characters. "Rather than localizing the story, we wanted to draw attention to pain in the world by showing incidents in our own land. Materiality is what lies behind pain all around the world. I think economic worries nourish nationalism," Arık said. Arık added a hodja character to the film. He said the character, hiding behind religion, behaves cruelly toward people and confiscates their land. "The hodja prays five times a day but all he thinks about is owning more."
Arık said the film was set in the time of World War I, "While watching the film, viewers will be able to see events that happened during the war and the effect on people's psychology." He said he intentionally shot a short film and that its message was very short and certain. He added the film had a mission in addition to commemorating Dink. "With this film, rather than agitate, we try to highlight once again that everyone who shares this land is a brother."
The End of the World War
The film depicts the end of World War I. A young Armenian person, who survived the painful events of 1915, shelters in a village in the slopes of Mount Süphan in eastern Anatolia. He does not play on the streets like the other young people. He lives in the shed of a villager named Ismail and tells people nothing except that his name is Abdullah. One day when he is in the toilet, other children see he is uncircumcised, and start throwing stones at him. With fear, Abdullah shelters in the shed and circumcises himself with a sharp tool and then throws the bloody piece of skin at the people.
The product of months of work the film, "Kertenkel" (Lizard), was inspired by a column published in daily Birgün in October 2004 written by Agos editor-in-chief Dink, who was assassinated on Jan. 19, 2007.
Özgür Arık, a documentary maker who holds many national and international awards, directed the film. The film’s budget was 40,000 Turkish liras, provided by the Green Agency and it was shot in the Mediterranean city of Antalya.
Although the film cannot find a movie theater that will screen it, there are plans to show it to audiences this year in many national and international film festivals, including the International Istanbul Film Festival that will be organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, or IKSV, in April. One of the most important planned destinations for the film is the International Golden Apricot Film Festival to be organized in Armenian capital, Yerevan in July. From Feb. 17, the film will be screened with English and Turkish subtitles at the Nazım Hikmet Culture Center on Istanbul’s Asian side in Kadıköy.
"Being inspired by the painful events Armenians went through and with the words of Dink, this film aims to draw attention to the pain people are experiencing throughout the world. Unfortunately, we fight to live in an environment in which people are moving away from each other and becoming enemies," said Arık.
Arık said the film was based around a character named Abdullah. "A lizard, when it feels danger, it shelters in the smallest hole it can find, just like Abdullah." He said the content of the story was traumatic, "Yes, there is violence in the story but it is based on causality. We wanted to highlight once again the cost of excess in this film."
"I have read almost all articles written by Dink," said Arık. He said "Lizard" was very important to him, "As soon as I took the paper and started reading the article, scenes from the film took shape in my mind."
Supporting characters from local to general
Even though Arık sticks to the original story in the film, he also backs it up with supporting characters. "Rather than localizing the story, we wanted to draw attention to pain in the world by showing incidents in our own land. Materiality is what lies behind pain all around the world. I think economic worries nourish nationalism," Arık said. Arık added a hodja character to the film. He said the character, hiding behind religion, behaves cruelly toward people and confiscates their land. "The hodja prays five times a day but all he thinks about is owning more."
Arık said the film was set in the time of World War I, "While watching the film, viewers will be able to see events that happened during the war and the effect on people's psychology." He said he intentionally shot a short film and that its message was very short and certain. He added the film had a mission in addition to commemorating Dink. "With this film, rather than agitate, we try to highlight once again that everyone who shares this land is a brother."
The End of the World War
The film depicts the end of World War I. A young Armenian person, who survived the painful events of 1915, shelters in a village in the slopes of Mount Süphan in eastern Anatolia. He does not play on the streets like the other young people. He lives in the shed of a villager named Ismail and tells people nothing except that his name is Abdullah. One day when he is in the toilet, other children see he is uncircumcised, and start throwing stones at him. With fear, Abdullah shelters in the shed and circumcises himself with a sharp tool and then throws the bloody piece of skin at the people.