SPRING

 Director: CEMÎLE ŞAHÎN

Time: 43’

 Year of Production: 2023

 Language: KURDÎ-FRANSÎ-TIRKÎ

 Subtitle: TIRKÎ-INGILÎZÎ-KURDÎ

Synopsis

The Bingöl family is forced to abandon their home in Kurdistan due to the construction of a dam. In the course of the relocation, husband and father Hasan vanishes without a trace. The family is driven into exile and torn apart.

Nearly twenty years later, the filming of a French documentary sets off a relentless search for Hasan — a journey that takes the family across several countries. What unfolds is a story of exile and revenge, state violence and betrayal.

Biography

 Cemile Sahin (*1990, Wiesbaden) studied Fine Arts at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and at the Berlin University of the Arts. She published the novels TAXI (2019, Korbinian Verlag) and ALL DOGS DIE (2020, Aufbau Verlag). Sahin was a fellow of the Junge Akademie der Künste in Berlin (2019), received the ars viva Prize for Fine Arts (2020), and was awarded the Alfred Döblin Medal (2020). Her work often incorporates audiovisual media, with a strong focus on political video art and narrative storytelling. Her short film Four Ballads for My Father – Bihar has been screened internationally, including at Loop Barcelona, Berlinische Galerie, Volksbühne Berlin, Kunsthalle Osnabrück, and KIN in Brussels. It was also nominated for the German Short Film Award by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.