Film adapted from political prisoner’s novel to be released in Europe

‘Blackberry Season’ (original Kurdish title ‘Dema Dirîreşkan’), a film adapted from the novel of Kurdish political prisoner Murat Türk in Turkey, is to be released in Europe.

The first screenings will be in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany, on 21 May.

The producer of the film, Serhat Hulaku, said to Fırat News Agency that they aim to have the film screened in 150 cities in Europe.

“The film was previously screened at festivals in countries including Spain, Bangladesh, and the Netherlands,” Hulaku said. “It will be screened at festivals in Germany and Switzerland in the coming weeks.”

The film will be screened on 21 May in Paris as part of the Paris Kurdish Culture Week. On the same day, there will be a screening in Cologne.

The film conveys a period of war and violence in Turkey during the 1990s, and tells the story of a Kurdish fighter’s struggle to survive after being wounded in clashes with the Turkish army.

Murat Türk’s novel ‘Blackberry Season’ is based on the author’s own experiences as a Kurdish fighter before being captured by the Turkish army.

The film was shot near the city of Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI).

The director of the film, Haşim Aydemir, said in an earlier interview that they worked very hard for a good adaptation of Türk’s novel.

Noting that artists functioned as ‘carriers of cultural memory’, he said:

“We, the Kurds, have an oral history by tradition. We must keep our memories alive in order to preserve our identity and existence.”