Saf
Ali Vatansever
The Fikirtepe district of Istanbul. Urban transformation is sweeping away the poor
communities and Syrian refugees take shelter in deserted buildings. Kamil and his wife Remziye risk losing their home. Unemployed for a long time, Kamil, has no choice but to secretly accept a job on a construction site. Not only is he taking the job from a Syrian refugee, he's also working for the company that's destroying the area next door. Oppression and anxiety both in his neighbourhood, where he fears discovery, and at work, where he's accepted the low wages paid to refugees, gradually transform him. When Kamil suddenly disappears, Remziye has to face the consequences of his actions, which do not fit the man she knows. But she will not give up.
communities and Syrian refugees take shelter in deserted buildings. Kamil and his wife Remziye risk losing their home. Unemployed for a long time, Kamil, has no choice but to secretly accept a job on a construction site. Not only is he taking the job from a Syrian refugee, he's also working for the company that's destroying the area next door. Oppression and anxiety both in his neighbourhood, where he fears discovery, and at work, where he's accepted the low wages paid to refugees, gradually transform him. When Kamil suddenly disappears, Remziye has to face the consequences of his actions, which do not fit the man she knows. But she will not give up.
With : Erol Afsin, Saadet Aksoy, Onur Buldu, Emrullah Cakay, Gökhan Civan, Ümmü Putgül, Kida Khodr Ramadan, Ebru Ojen Sahin
Screenplay : Ali Vatansever
Image : Tudor Vladimir Panduru
Sound : Alexandru Dumitru
Editing : Evren Lus
Screenplay : Ali Vatansever
Image : Tudor Vladimir Panduru
Sound : Alexandru Dumitru
Editing : Evren Lus
Production : Selin Oya, Vatansever Ozden (Terminal Film)
International sales: Doc & Film International
International sales: Doc & Film International
After studying Industrial Product Design and Film and TV in Istanbul, he completed his MFA degree in Film Production at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York. He is pursuing his directing career within Terminal Film, a production company he co-founded. His debut feature, El Yazısı (One Day or Another, 2012) has been screened in various international film festivals and theatrically distributed in Turkey. Aside from filmmaking, Ali teaches Film at Koç University and works closely with NGOs on local democracy and governance.
“I've always been intrigued by how people's living surroundings can transform them. For years I passed by Fikirtepe, witnessing the shantytown turn into a soulless landscape of giant residential complexes. So I decided to investigate how living in the shadow of those buildings affects people (...) This paradoxical situation in Fikirtepe made me dig deeper, and what I discovered was that it's not simply the area that's being transformed, it's first and foremost the people. I had found my motive for making Saf...” (Ali Vatansever)
“I've always been intrigued by how people's living surroundings can transform them. For years I passed by Fikirtepe, witnessing the shantytown turn into a soulless landscape of giant residential complexes. So I decided to investigate how living in the shadow of those buildings affects people (...) This paradoxical situation in Fikirtepe made me dig deeper, and what I discovered was that it's not simply the area that's being transformed, it's first and foremost the people. I had found my motive for making Saf...” (Ali Vatansever)