Section: Spectrum

CLOVES & CARNATIONS

Bekir Bülbül

TR, 2021, 100 Min

Together with his granddaughter, the aged, taciturn refugee Musa undertakes a sad mission: to bring the body of his deceased wife to their homeland and have her laid to rest there. They don’t have a lot of money set aside however and thus have to hitchhike with the coffin. The difficult journey increasingly takes on a somnambulistic-like quality, as it evolves into a spiritual trip between the breathtakingly beautiful mountain landscapes of south-eastern Anatolia and the afterlife.

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Before she passed away, Musa gave his word to his wife that after her death he would return her home, from Turkey, and bury her there. Since no one can look after their 12-year-old granddaughter, she has to come too. And so, they travel together with a coffin on wheels. This unlikely group of travellers tries to make the journey by hitchhiking, which proves to be nearly impossible. And yet despite all the obstacles Musa always remains calm and pensive, as the journey soon acquires an almost meditative quality. With restrained urgency, Bekir Bülbül speaks of the desire of many refugees to be buried in their homelands. They wander like two little ants across the seemingly impenetrable mountain panorama of south-eastern Anatolia where, having inevitably lost the way, one has no other option but to turn to the imagination to proceed with the journey.

Text: Joshua Jádi und Kira Taszman
English: Peter Rickerby

Weltspiegel (large hall): original version with English subtitles + German simultaneous translation

Drehbuch
Bekir Bülbül & Büşra Bülbül

Kamera
Baris Aygen

Ton
Umut Şenyol

Schnitt
Eren Sabri Öztürk & Bekir Bülbül

Ausstattung
Osman Çankırılı

Darsteller
Demir Parscan
Şam Şerit Zeydan

Produzent
Halil Kardaş

Produktion
Filmcode

Co-Produktion
Bozena Bogdziewicz-Onkol - Bo Dream Productions

Bekir Bülbül - After his first documentary film BULGUR MILL, Bekir Bülbül made his debut feature film MY SHORT WORDS (2018). Its world premiere was at the 37th Istanbul Film Festival. The film travelled to more than thirty countries and won many Grand Prizes. CLOVES & CARNATIONS is the director’s 2nd feature film.

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