Zerya is a refugee woman in her 50s living in Paris. At the age of 22, she was forced to leave her country due to the chemical gas attack on the city of Halabja by Saddam Hussein on March 16, 1988. She has lived in France for 30 years. While visiting a painting exhibition in Paris, Zerya encounters Magritte’s “The Treachery of Images” and remarks, “This is not an apple.” This painting brings to the surface Zerya’s past traumas. She establishes both a historical and aesthetic connection between the “apple with cloves,” which symbolizes love in Kurdish mythology, the smell of apples in the gas used during the massacre, and Magritte’s painting. Zerya expresses the relationship between the painting and her own tragedy in a unique performance.
Runtime: 15:00
Category: Short Film
Director Biography – Mehmet Acaruk
Mehmet Acaruk hails from Urfa and has been a professional photographer for about ten years. He worked extensively with Iz Magazine, under the leadership of Ara Güler, a renowned photographer in Turkey and worldwide. Mehmet played significant roles in “Fotografevi,” known for workshops, exhibitions, Iz Magazine, and as the Turkish representative of “Magnum Photos.”
He sought to translate the narrative language he honed in photography into cinema. The influence of his sociological background is evident in all his works. Mehmet believes that all artistic and social disciplines should be approached with aesthetic integrity, a belief that drives his filmmaking. “The Apple” is his first short film.
Director Statement
“The Apple” is a metaphorical work inspired by my mother’s clove necklace. I crafted the short film as a trilogy of mythology, experience, and artistic expression: Love, massacre, and the betrayal of images. I believe that art is rooted in the tragedy of the ordinary person. I chose not to use dialogue in the film, opting instead for a few voiceovers to reinforce the theme. As Seneca said, “Light griefs are loquacious, but the great are dumb.”
