NFB Collection
Vendetta Song
200552 min 8 secFilm: Documentary
Direction: Eylem Kaftan
Production: Abbey Jack Neidik (DLI Productions Inc.)Irene AngelicoGermaine Ying Gee Wong (National Film Board of Canada)Sally BochnerAlberta Nokes
Script: Eylem Kaftan
Produced by DLI Productions Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, in association with Vision TV and Télé-Québec, with the participation of the Québec Film and Television Tax Credit - Gestion SODEC, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.
Eylem Kaftan gazes from her hotel window down over the bustling streets of Istanbul. She is preparing for a 1400-kilometre journey into the heartland of her Kurdish ancestry. Armed with only a few contacts, a faded family photograph and a passionate urge to discover the truth, the Montreal filmmaker will travel deep into eastern Turkey to attempt to unravel the 30-year-old mystery of her aunt Guzide's murder.
Vendetta Song is the story of her incredible voyage--a riveting account of a senseless vendetta killing, the antiquated customs that brought it about and one woman's search for connection and closure in a Kurdish culture she's never known.
Working against time, political instability and facing possible retribution for her investigation, Eylem follows a series of word-of-mouth clues, venturing from village to village as she pieces together Guzide's final days and closes in on the identity of her killer. Amazingly, Vendetta Song brings Eylem face to face with one of the men she suspects is her aunt's murderer. It is 30 years later. Can the vendetta finally be laid to rest?
Availability
Other versions
Subject categories
- Developing Countries > Middle East
- Law and Crime > MurderViolence Against Women
- History and Citizenship Education > Culture and Currents of Thought (1500-present)
- Family Studies/Home Economics > Feminism
- Health/Personal Development > Healthy Relationships
- Ethics and Religious Culture > Religious Diversity/Heritage
Credits
- director
- Eylem Kaftan
- producer
- Abbey Jack Neidik
- Irene Angelico
- Germaine Ying Gee Wong
- executive producer
- Sally Bochner
- Alberta Nokes
- editor
- Jeremiah Hayes
- sound
- Diane Carrière
- writer
- Eylem Kaftan
- original music
- Freeworm
- Lance Neveu
- associate producer
- Eylem Kaftan
- Patrick Moss
- narrator
- Eylem Kaftan
- additional writer
- Irene Angelico
- Jeremiah Hayes
- Craig Segal
- additional editing
- Louise Côté
- Eylem Kaftan
- assistant director
- Craig Segal
- additional camera
- Jeremiah Hayes
- photographs
- Eylem Kaftan
- Craig Segal
- musician
- Stéphane Allard
- Jean-François Ouellet
- Dave Gossage
- Jason Lang
- video post-production
- Digital Cut Postproduction
- online editor
- Ghislain Bergevin
- on-line supervisor
- Patrick Clune
- on-line coordinator
- Stéphanie Lemieux
- assistant on-line editor
- Yannick Desrochers
- sound post-production
- Le Studio Harmonie
- sound post-production coordinator
- Nathalie Tremblay
- sound editing
- Mario Choquette
- sound editing services
- Audio FX
- sound mixing
- Éric Tessier
- music editing
- Éric Tessier
- production coordinator
- Tania Cooper
- Zeynep Calasin
- SB Edwards
- Michelle Diamond
- research
- Eylem Kaftan
- Craig Segal
- Patrick Moss
- Zeynep Calasin
- translation
- Zeynep Yas
- Alexandre Barazi
- Félix Houde
- Lili Charoeva
- Hind Benchekroun
- Ghislain Bergevin
- transcription
- Tania Cooper
- marketing manager
- Moira Keigher
- closed captioning
- CNST
- production accountant
- John Chretien
- legal services
- Heenan Blaikie L.L.P.
- Shari Segal
- insurance
- Taillefer Desjardins inc.
Awards
- CIDA Prize for Best Canadian Documentary on International Development - with a cash prize of 5,000$Hot Docs
- Third Prize - (ex aequo with Switch on the Night by Alejandra Canales, Australia)Women Film Festival "La Mo-Viola"
- Award for Best DocumentaryFemale Eye Film Festival
- Bronze Plaque - Category: Humanities International Film and Video Festival
- NFB Best Canadian Documentary AwardInternational Film Festival
- Quebec Film Critics Association Award - Short and Medium length DocumentaryRendez-vous Québec Cinéma