Ötekilerin Sinemasına Kuir Perspektiften Bakmak: Ali Kemal Çınar Filmlerinin Alımlanması

Abstract

This study examines the definition of queer and how it can be interpreted outside of Western contexts. Based on the traditions of New Queer Cinema and Third Cinema, it is discussed how queer films find their meanings in geographies predominantly inhabited by Kurds. In this context, it is argued that Ali Kemal Çınar's films, which have a unique and distinctive place in Kurdish cinema, have the potential to provide such intersection. Bajar / City (2010), Veşartî / Hidden (2015), Di Navberê De / In Between (2018) and Berîya Şevê / Before the Night (2021) from Çınar’s filmography have been selected as samples. Issues such as the connection of archival images with collective memory, gender change, in-betweenness, bodies and relationships outside the binary gender regime make it possible to associate films with a queer perspective. In addition to the theoretical framework, how the audience interprets such a queer perspective is also within the scope of the study. Accordingly, seventeen semi-structured interviews have been conducted with university students in Van and Diyarbakır. Parallel with the interviews, the emerging themes have been examined within the framework of both Kurdish cinema and queer cinema discussions. The politicization of film production and budget problems, the creation of a common ground in film readings regarding Kurdish, and the archival value of urban images and their function in the construction of social memory are read together with the discussions on Kurdish cinema. At the same time, the relationships that the interviewees establish with the film characters in the context of gender, the alternatives they offer to the biological family in terms of intimacy and commitment, and the gaps left while interpreting the films can also be interpreted on the axis of the theoretical framework of queer cinema. The repercussions of both Kurdish cinema and queer cinema debates in Turkey also contribute to the production of knowledge on the multi-faceted of identities, the plurality of gaze, and the fluid meanings of queer.