Serhat Önder was born and raised in Nuremberg, Germany, and moved to Turkey in 2014, before he was killed on the night of July 15. Now, director Ekrem Aydın is going to tell Önder's story in his documentary "Korkma Oğlum" (Don't Be Afraid, My Son).
After news of the coup attempt broke, Önder, the former head of the Küçükesat branch of the Turkish Red Crescent Society in Ankara, along with his wife and children rushed to the General Staff headquarters.
His last words were: "Don't be afraid, my son," as he tried to calm his son who was scared by the flying jets.
Aydın, who was also born and raised in Germany, recently spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the documentary.
Supported by the Turkish Red Crescent, it was shot in different locations in Çankırı, Ankara, Istanbul, Germany, and Syria.
"We knew each other from Germany. Now, I wanted to tell the story of a brother. He is the only martyr who moved from Germany to his homeland. The Turkish Red Crescent said they would support the documentary. They stood by us and now we have completed the project."
'Speakers directly address the spectator'
Aydın said that he used a unique storytelling technique in the documentary.
"Rather than using archival footage and voiceovers, we wanted to present the full story through the words of Önder's family and friends. In the documentary, you will see Önder's parents, his brother - also his best friend - his colleagues and the president of Turkish Red Crescent Society, Kerem Kınık. They will directly address the spectators rather than speak to a correspondent. They share their sorrows and offer a glimpse of their inner worlds," he said.
"This storytelling technique hasn't been used in Turkey before. Here, there'll be no a third agent between the spectators and the speaker," said Aydın.
He added that there were also re-enactments in the documentary and said: "We didn't use actors in re-enactments. The spectators themselves become the actors. Throughout the documentary, they see things from a first-person view. The audience will feel as if they were next to him. In one scene, his father finds him in the hospital. All the feelings of that specific moment are transferred through to the audience using this technique. There are also some images related to the stories told by the speakers. We have also presented some images from Önder's family and social life."
Last year, Aydın directed the short film "30 Birds" in the memory of the July 15 hero Ömer Halisdemir.
"For a long time I have wanted to go to back to Turkey, but I couldn't take any action. Last year on the night of July 14, I traveled to Bosnia on business. I could have been part of the resistance if I had departed a few days later. Turks in Germany are already far from their homeland and we felt resentment after missing an opportunity to do something good for the country. After the coup attempt, I immediately returned to Turkey and now, I'm working to keep the memories of July 15 alive through my films."
Aydın explained that with eight months of preparation, it took 10 months in total to complete the documentary.
"Throughout the interviews, Önder's family held their heads high while the shooting team broke into tears," Aydın said.
The documentary will premiere in Nuremberg in August.
Music by Yıldıray Gürgen
The music for the documentary was composed by Yıldıray Gürgen, who is known for his work for "Payitaht Abdülhamid," "İsimsizler," "Organize İşler" and "Neşeli Hayat."
