Short Film
2023, 36 min 43 sec
This film derives from my fathers own VHS and VHS-C archive. Since his arrival in Switzerland he was passionate about film and started to record everything from our childhood, our school up to our vacations back in Kurdistan.
One specific use those videos had was communication. Lots of relatives in Europe who either couldn’t afford to visit their families back in Kurdistan our were not able due to them being political refugees, were filmed by my father. They were greeting their families and showing them their homes. When my parents went to Kurdistan for their vacations they showed their families the videos. Following that our families had the possibilities to respond and likewise show the former buildings that a lot of us called home.
This film focuses on the responses from Pazarcik, our home village. They are showing or hiding their struggles and are also expressing their perception of the European life they imagine for their loved ones. My grandfather ended the last recorded greeting as follows “We only have a few years left to live, until we lose our homes. Nobody will come back and our homes and belongings will be left behind for foreigners (Turks)“
on the 6th of February 2023 my grandfather’s question was finally answered. It wasn’t the turks who took our homes and belonging from us, but an earthquake with a magnitude of over 7.8. The epicenter was in Pazarcik, our home village.
This Film has been screened at the "Ciné Liminal" in Bern and in the collective space "Memories of Many" in Zurich.
