Keswick Film Club - The Children of Diyarbakir

Synopsis

In partnership with Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group (KP&HRG)

Gulistan (Senay Orak) and her younger brother, Firat (Muhammed Al), have a normal childhood with their mom (Fahriye Celik) and dad (Alisan Onlu) and new baby brother. Dad is a Kurdish journalist; on their way back from a wedding, the family is stopped by three gunmen, who shoot the parents dead in front of the kids. The kids' aunt Yekbun (Berivan Eminoglu), an underground Kurdish activist, moves in to care for them, but as she tries to get a visa to take them to their grandpa in Sweden, she's kidnapped by the paramilitary police and the children are left completely alone. As the weeks pass, they start selling everything in the apartment just to have food to eat, but it's not enough for medicine for the baby. Their life gets harder as they struggle to survive.

In the days that follow, the paths of the two children, along with those of Dilara and Nuri, will all intersect in ways that have surprising impact due to the unexpected restraint with which their roles are played.

The film has won awards at 10 international festivals