In the Fikirtepe district of Istanbul, Kamil and his wife Remziye are at risk of losing their home. Urban transformation is pushing out local families and Syrian refugees are left to take shelter in the deserted buildings.
Saf
Synopsis
In the Fikirtepe district of Istanbul, Kamil and his wife Remziye are at risk of losing their home. Urban transformation is pushing out local families and Syrian refugees are left to take shelter in the deserted buildings. Desperately in need of work, Kamil decides to secretly accept a construction job, working for the very company taking over their neighbourhood, displacing a Syrian refugee from the position and agreeing to work for less than other Turkish workers. Fearing both discovery and failure, Kamil’s anxiety gradually transforms him, and Remziye is left to face the consequences of her husband’s unrecognizable actions.
“‘Saf’ is a word play in Turkish. It means both pure and naïve, and invokes joining the ranks and taking a side. This film is about both - the lack of individual choice and the need to maintain collective dignity in the midst of vicious urban development. This is Istanbul as few films show it.”
- Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
Credits
Ali Vatansever
Director
