The “Missing Fetine” documentary directed by Yeliz Shukri was screened at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Communication. The documentary tells the story of Fetine who was one of hundreds of girls from the Turkish Cypriot community sold and married to the Arabs in the 1930s. The making of the documentary in which Pembe Mentesh tracks her great-aunt’s lead from Cyprus to Palestine was filmed over a period of seven years.
The film which premiered at the 20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival garnered great interest from EMU academic staff and students. The documentary that won awards at the Aegean Docs 2018 Documentary Film Festival in Greece and the Primed 2018 Documentary Film Festival in France premiered in Cyprus at the 13th Limassol International Documentary Festival (LIDF). Within the scope of the event organized by the EMU Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Cinema and Television the documentary was screened with English and Turkish subtitles in three different halls. This was followed by a talk delivered by its director Yeliz Shukri and lead character / narrator Pembe Mentesh.
“Both Sides Need to Confront Truths”
Relaying information about the making of the documentary, Shukri and Mentesh stated that presenting Fetine’s life story was psychologically difficult. Shukri also indicated that “Missing Fetine” will continue to show at festivals and that screenings will also take place in Turkey.
Shukri also relayed her opinion regarding the effect that documentary films can have on social transformation: “This film makes Cypriots and Palestinians confront certain truths. Therefore we need to look at the past and think about what we can do today. This is what both sides need to do. When we look back we see that there are serious issues with women’s rights which are still not at the desired level. Improvement is essential.”
Underlining that one of the missions of the film is to help people, Shukri and Mentesh stated that the loved-ones of many people who shared the faith of Fetine reached out to them via the Missing Fetine-Documentary Facebook page.