تخته سیاه

With an introduction by Afsun Moshiry and an overture by Miedya Mahmod

detours while speaking of monsters
Deniz Şimşek, Germany, Turkey, 2024, 18 Min, Turkish, digital

detours while speaking of monsters (Synopsis): A 4000-year-old aquatic monster is rendered invisible in present-day Turkey. Its myth dates back to the ancestors of Armenians and Kurds around Lake Van, a region that witnessed the ethnic cleansing of both peoples. However, the monster remains somewhat alive in the tales of the inhabitants, resisting falling entirely into oblivion. In this blue landscape, on the crossroads of mythological, political and personal realms, different forms of erasure are concealed. Meanwhile, old gods are upset with us, and I am upset with my father.

Blackboards (Synopsis): The Kurdish narrative and origins do not need to be associated with any particular era, as they have always been indigenous inhabitants of their territory, which encompasses the Zagros Mountains across Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Today, Kurdish communities live in southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.

Recognizing that the Kurdish identity is distinct is crucial. Nation-states often falsely claim to be homogeneous, marginalizing and oppressing Kurds within their territories. Their language is often stifled, and their culture is largely ignored. In the manner of preservation of their language, the spoken word overture by Miedya Mahmoud gives a diasporic look into the generational dialogue and continuous resistance of the biggest ethnic group without its state. Blackboards by Samira Makhbalbaf completes the program, which offers an outsider, romantic perspective on the life of Kurdish nomads at the Iran, Iraq border. (AM)

Miedya Mahmod is a poet and performer. They are involved with the spoken-word group Netzwerk Lyrik and the post-German artist collective Parallelgesellschaft.

Deniz Şimşek (1995, Istanbul) studied film and art in Istanbul and Berlin. Delving into the intricate interplay between socio-political phenomena and personal fragments, she seeks to unearth obscure connections that thread through seemingly unrelated subject matters. Through her artistic practice, she experiments with narrative tools reminiscent of the shifting patterns of memories and dreams