Wednesday, April 11

Zeynep Gülru Keçeciler: “Afghanistan is a very difficult land”

Zavar, the Kid and the Partridges from “National Documentary Competition” was screened with the participation of the director, Zeynep Gülru Keçeciler, and the director of photography, Ahmet Hamdi Ferah. The film shows the Afghan traditions through the lives of a 60-something man, Zavar, living in a mountain village in northern Afghanistan, and 9-year-old Rezak. Director Keçeciler said that the shooting took 55 days and explained why: “Afghanistan is a very difficult land. It’s been in a state of conflict and war for the past 41 years. In northern Afghanistan Turkish identity is recognised but the safety measures were quite tight. We’ve been working in Afghanistan since 2010 so we’re familiar with the geography and the culture.” Ahmet Hamdi Ferah said: “There’s a security issue in Afghanistan. There’s the ISIS, and also Taliban. It was better when we went there in 2012. The threat of ISIS emerged in 2017. We weren’t able to shoot in some villages. You are able to pass through some areas only at some designated hours.” Director Keçeciler also answered a question as to why they showed so little about women in the film: “It’s not easy to film a woman in Afghanistan. Even so, a lot of films were made about Afghan women, and we wanted to tell the lives of men. In Afghanistan it’s not difficult only to be a woman but to be a human being in general.”

Photo: Benek Özmez