Ajyal Film Festival 2024

All Films

Brother's Keeper (Okul Tiraşi)

Ajyal Competition, Ajyal at Vox

Ferit Karahan / Feature Narrative / Turkey / 2021 / 85 min / Colour / DCP
In Kurdish, Turkish / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Drama
MENA Premiere

Synopsis

Yusuf and his best friend Memo are pupils at a boarding school for Kurdish boys, secluded in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia. When Memo falls mysteriously ill, Yusuf is forced to struggle through the bureaucratic obstacles put up by the school’s repressive authorities to try to help his friend. But by the time the adults in charge finally understand the seriousness of Memo’s condition and try to get him to the hospital, the school has been buried under a sudden, heavy snowfall. With no way out, teachers and pupils engage in a blame game where grudges and hidden secrets emerge—as time ticks mercilessly by and threatens to run out.
Through Yusuf’s story, the film sets out to examine corrupt systems and the cycles of abuse often found within them. The children are the heroes of the narrative, symbols of purity, innocence and, most importantly, hope. By contrast, it is the metaphor of a boarding school run with an iron fist and unyielding bureaucracy that is used to deftly illustrate the callous nature of corrupt institutions that all too often shirk the responsibilities entrusted to them. Beautifully shot and with a compellingly layered plot, ‘Brother’s Keeper’ is a harrowing coming-of-age story with profound undertones.

About the Directors

Ferit Karahan was born in Muş, Turkey. His short films ‘Before the Flood’ and ‘Yusiv’s Dream’ have been screened at numerous festivals, winning several awards and honourable mentions. His feature debut ‘The Fall from Heaven’ premiered at the Antalya Film Festival, where it won Best Film and was later screened at more than 15 festivals and won 10 awards. He also created “Eski Köye Yeni Adet” for FOX as a TV movie, but the film was later released in cinemas around Turkey.

Credits

Director
Ferit Karahan
Screenwriter
Ferit Karahan, Gülistan Acet
Producer
Kanat Doğramacı
Editor
Sercan Sezgin, Hayedeh Safiyari, Ferit Karahan
Co-Producer
Tudor Alexandru Craciun
Cinematographer
Türksoy Gölebeyi
Sales Company
Intramovies
Production Company
Asteros Film
Sound
Srdjan Kurpjel M.P.S.E.
Mixing
Srdjan Kurpjel M.P.S.E.
Distributor
MC Distribution
Cast
Samet Yıldız, Ekin Koç, Mahir İpek, Nurullah Alaca, Cansu Fırıncı, Melih Selçuk

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