The Play

The Play

Ummuye, Behiye, Ummu, Fatma K., Cennet, Saniye, Fatma F., Zeynep and Nesime are nine peasant women living in Arslankoy, a mountain village in southern Turkey. They spend their days working hard in the fields, on the construction site and at home. To lighten the burden of life, these women come together for a wholly different reason. They intend to write and perform a play based on their own life stories.

They gather at the local high school, which they were shy of even stepping into until that day and they work with the principal, Mr. Huseyin. They reveal their life stories that they were even afraid to tell themselves and confront. For days on end, under the curious gazes of the village men, they work tirelessly, discuss and create with much fun a play,

“The Outcry of Women!”

This documentary is about the development process of this play and the change the women went through during this period.

  • director, producer,
  • cinematographer, editor
    • pelin esmer
  • co-producer
    • nida karabol akdeniz
  • executive producer
    • tolga esmer
  • original music
    • mazlum çimen
  • production manager
    • peri johnson
  • sound
    • emrah yıldırım
    • bülent kılıç
  • post production
  • supervisor
    • cem yıldırım
  • writer of the play
    • hüseyin arslanköylü
  • theatre group
    • behiye yanık
    • cennet güneş
    • fatma fatih
    • fatma kahraman
    • hüseyin arslanköylü
    • naşide kahraman
    • nesime kahraman
    • saniye cengiz
    • ümmüye koçak
    • ümmü kurt
    • zeynep fatih
  • second and third unit camera in the play
    • mustafa ünlü
    • özlem özbek
  • sound studio
    • melodika
  • sound editing and mix
    • durul seren
  • colorist
    • cenk erol
  • english translation
    • kelly carlson
    • alp çığman
  • spanish translation
    • david arribas cubero
  • original title:                                             oyun
  • english title:                                             the play
  • production company:                            sinefilm
  • year:                                                           2005
  • country:                                                     turkey
  • color:                                                          color
  • running time:                                             70′
  • original film language:                           turkish
  • subtitles:                                                   english, french, spanish
  • shooting format:                                     dv
  • projecting format:                                  digibeta, 35 mm, dvd, DCP
  • sound:                                                       stereo

Arslankoy Village Theater Group

Behiye Yanık, Cennet Güneş, Fatma Fatih, Fatma Kahraman, Hüseyin Arslanköylü, 
Naşide Kahraman, Nesime Kahraman,
 Saniye Cengiz, Ümmüye Koçak, 
Ümmü Kurt, Zeynep Fatih

  • Tribeca Film Festival (USA)
    The Best New Documentary Filmmaker Award
  • Trieste Film Festival (Italy)
    The Best Documentary Film Award
  • Créteil Women Film Festival (France)
    The Best Documentary Film Award
  • Navarra Punto de Vista Film Festival (Spain)
    The Audience Award
  • Nürnberg Turkey/Germany Film Festival (Germany)
    The Special Prize Of The Jury
  • Vitoria New European Film Festival (Spain)
    The Human Rights Award
  • Adana Golden Boll Film Festival (Turkey)
    The In Memoriam Yilmaz Guney Award
  • Boston Turkish Film Festival (USA)
    The Best Documentary Film Award
  • Centre Médittérrannéen de Comunication Audiovisuelle (International)
    The Best Mediterranean Documentary Grand Prix
  • FR3 and Algerian TV Awards
  • Turkish Cinema Writers Assoc. Awards (Turkey)
    The Special Prize of the Jury
  • San Sebastián International Film Festival (World Premiere, Spain)
  • Zabaltegi Best New Directors Nominee
  • 15th Filmreihe Tuepisch Tuerkisch (Germany)
  •  2021 Special Screening
  • 1st Ponnani International Film Festival (India)
  • 2021 Special Screening
  • Bucharest International Film Festival (Romania)
  • Best Film Award
  • São Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil)
  • Best New Director Award
  • Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film CINEMED (France)
  • Official Selection
  • Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival (Greece)
  • Official Selection