Ocak

Ocak tells the story of a family who earns their livelihood as hazelnut cultivators in rural north-eastern Turkey. Filmed in an observational style, it offers glimpses into the local everyday life in the village and explores the relationship between people and their hazelnut gardens, which have been inherited throughout generations. As the film reflects on labour and gender, it also asks questions about the heart, land and family. Ocak hopes to challenge the all too prevalent mainstream narrative within the documentary media tradition, which frame gender dynamics in the Muslim Middle East simply as an oppressor-oppressed dichotomy. By taking the audience closer to the daily worries and desires, joys and quarrels of the people on screen, Ocak provides an in-depth ethnographic understanding of life as lived by the members of this community.