PRESS CONFERENCE
TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF – MARIA’S GROTTO - TERRITORIES
A press conference was given on Tuesday, March 11 at the Olympion’s Green Room, by the directors of the documentaries To make an example of, Necati Sonmez, Maria’s Grotto, Buthina Canaan Khoury and Territories, Mary Elen Davis.
To make an example of, which is included in the Human Rights section of the Documentary Festival, deals with the subject of the death penalty in Turkey. “The main purpose of the documentary is to communicate the last moments of the condemned, just before the executions, thus highlighting the issue of the violation of human rights”, said the film’s Necati Sonmez. He talked about the difficulties he faces because of a lack of material, as well as the nature of the issue itself. “We relied on letters written by the condemned to their families, just before their executions. We shot in two abandoned prisons which had been used for this purpose, while at the same time we tried to find testimonies from other people involved in the executions, such as judges or lawyers”, N. Sonmez noted. He added that the death penalty was abolished in Turkey only in 2002, mainly as part of Turkey’s “Europeanization” process due to its candidacy in joining the European Union. “The percentage of the Turkish Parliament that voted for the return of the death penalty is characteristic. It was almost 49%. This fact was my reason to begin making this documentary. It is an issue that is still being discussed in Turkey, it is an open wound which has not healed”, the director noted.
“Violence against women continues to be a taboo subject, which also influences the younger generations”, said Buthina Canaan Khoury, director of Maria’s Grotto, a documentary dealing with honor crimes against women in Palestine. “The lives of women are dependant on and determined by a code of ethics which is based on a tradition that demands that men have a powerful position in society, ruling everything, and on the lack of a legal framework set up by the state, “ the director explained. Regarding the difficulties she faced, she said that they mainly had to do with the emotional nature of the subject. However, aside from that, there were also practical difficulties due to the fact that she is also a woman, an independent documentary film maker in a country where women have no rights. “But the most important thing was that these women trusted me, in spite of their fears, and that now the subject of violence against women is being openly discussed in Palestine. This is my reward”, she stressed.
Mary-Ellen Davis’ film, Territories, is a portrait of Larry Towell, the only Canadian photographer who is a member of the legendary Magnum agency. “Larry and I are connected by personal friendship. But aside from that, what moved me to make this film was his complex personality. This is a very sensitive man, whose perceptions and positions on international problems are compatible with my vision on things and the world”, said M. E. Davis. She added: “No matter what his subject, Larry Towell considers himself a ‘family photographer’. Exactly this feeling of familiarity created by his working method was my motive for filming him.”
