BALIK (in progress)

20 min, 2022-26​

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Created with support from Tufts Summer Scholars Grant (2023) and SMFA Deans Research Grant (2024).

 

Balık (fish in Turkish) is an experimental documentary that explores my family’s connection to the town of Urla, Turkey. My mom, originally from Turkey is considered a member of the Levantine community; an ethnic minority of European Christians who settled in the Middle East. Tied together by language, food and religion, the Levantine community that thrived in Urla, now finds itself shrinking as members migrate once again. 

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directed & shot & edited: Leyla Mandel​

trailer out

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