Chronicle of a Revolt: One Year Istanbul (2015)

• 67%
• 2015
• Documentary
• Biene Pilavci
• Ayla Gottschlich

"Taksim is everywhere, resistance is everywhere." Two years ago, in early summer 2013, thousands of mainly younger people from across all political persuasions demonstrated against the destruction of Gezi Park in Istanbul. What began as a protest against a construction project quickly turned into a wider protest against the policies of the Erdogan government. The government violently suppressed the demonstrations in Gezi Park and near-by Taksim Square. Biene Pilavci and Ayla Gottschlich, two young German-Turkish filmmakers, happened to witness the events and shot images, putting themselves at great personal risk. Still, they decide to stay and continue to follow some of the demonstrators. There is young Bimen, an Armenian resident of Istanbul. He joined the protests, as the remains of an Armenian cemetery were to be removed for the construction project. Tamer is a journalist who lost his job as a consequence of refusing to falsify his account of the protests. Months later he finds work with a private Kurdish broadcaster, but he considers his prospects in Turkey dire. Rojda is spokeswoman for the Muslim anti capitalist movement, who are opposed to Erdogan's authoritarian leadership and who favour common wheel policies rather than encouraging private property. Biene Pilavci and Ayla Gottschlich have followed these and other protagonists of the democracy movement up to the parliamentary elections of August 2014.