"Bûka Baranê" is a documentary on the story of children growing up in a Kurdish village where war became a part of everyday life. The documentary was produced by the Memory Center and was released in 2013.

Synopsis

Starting from an elementary school photograph, the documentary brings together the children who posed in the photo in a village in Yüksekova for a wedding, approximately 25 years later. As they prepare for the wedding, we witness their experiences during the 1990s and 2000s.

"Bûka Baranê" focuses on the story of children growing up in a village in a region where war became a part of everyday life. It also reflects the story of the war that Turkey has been experiencing for about 30 years. The documentary expresses the longing for peace based on the experiences of ordinary people during this period.

Context

In its early years, the Memory Center primarily worked on documenting forced disappearances in Turkey and issues related to legal struggles in this area. The documentation activities revealed that disappearances were employed as a strategy, particularly in the 1990s, with civilians being the main victims of this practice, which was mainly associated with the conflict with the PKK.

To bear witness to these events, the Memory Center aimed to shed light on the last 20 years of the war through the testimonies of the children in a village where war was an integral part of everyday life, using an elementary school class photograph taken in the early 1990s. The goal was to convey the issue through emotions and experiences.

Credits

The film was produced by Murat Çelikkan on behalf of the Memory Center, directed by Dilek Gökçin. The script was written by İrfan Aktan, and the music was composed by Ulaş Özdemir. "Bûka Baranê" premiered at the Istanbul Film Festival at the Pera Museum.

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► You can find the credits, screening information, and other details about the film on the film's website.