Vendetta Song 2006
Distributed by National Film Board of Canada, 1123 Broadway, Suite 307, New York, NY 10010; 800-542-2164
Produced by DLI Productions/National Film Board of Canada
Directed by Eylem Kaftan
DVD, color, 52 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Biography, Crime, Criminal Justice, Death and Dying, European Studies, Storytelling
Date Entered: 06/07/2007
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa BarbaraThis film follows the trail of filmmaker Eylem Kaftan as she attempts to find out about her long-lost aunt, the 30-year-old mystery surrounding her aunt's murder, and the various ethnic and tribal rituals that still remain in eastern rural Turkish and Kurdish culture. Eylem goes through the worst earthquake in recorded Turkish history during the filmmaking, and has to work against political instability and possible retribution when she comes face-to-face with someone who may have been helped to kill her aunt.
This movie is an interesting, real-life version of Cold Case, but taking place in another part of the world that has yet to move towards modernism. It is also a fascinating portrayal of the filmmaker's emotional journey to discover a part of her own past.