SURRENDERING TO FILM
Alan Berliner is a master of creative documentary and experimental film.
zge Calafato met him in the midst of the Turkish uprising, which shocked him
and made him challenge his role as a filmmaker.
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IN FOCUS: ALAN BERLINER
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lan Berliner was in Istanbul this June as a guest of Explaining the transformation in his thinking, Berliner
honour at Istanbuls Documentarist, to present an ex- starts with the basic principles he works with:
tensive retrospective and give a master class. His trip In order for my films to work, the screen must somehow
coincided with the early days of the Gezi Park protests when function as both a window and a mirror, he says.
Turkish police carried out a harsh crackdown against demon- First, as windows to the lives and experiences of other
strators, with excessive use of pepper gas, water cannon and people, just as they do in most films, whether fiction or docu-
plastic bullets. Suffering from breathing difficulties as a result mentary. The audience brings their curiosity, their interest, and
of being gassed from a very close range, Berliner bore first-hand their thirst to experience the stories of people, places and cir-
witness to the Gezi clashes, which he calls one of the most pro- cumstances outside of their own particular worlds. At the same
found and enlightening experiences of his life. Inevitably, our time, the screen must also become a mirror for the viewer, a
interview would be marked by the state of affairs of this very surface on which they might also see something of themselves;
historical moment for Turkey. an opportunity to reflect upon their own stories, their own
I had never been in a position where I had to run for my life family dynamics, their own names, their own sleep, or whatever
before. Id never been in such direct confrontation with the it is that my film is exploring at that moment. For my films to
power of the state. And to be honest, Id never experienced succeed, the audience must be able to see the screen as both
the kind of collective solidarity and power that came from the window and mirror sometimes intermittently, or if Im lucky,
sights, sounds and energy of thousands upon thousands of sometimes simultaneously. This is how Ive always understood
people so intensely unified. Berliner says. my work But given the situation in Istanbul during my visit,
I began to move beyond the simplicity of windows and mirrors
I began to move beyond the simplicity of and was confronted with the power of the frame that is, the
windows and mirrors and was confronted social and cultural milieu (or context) within which the film
with the power of the frame is seen the surround. This was a transformative insight for
Alan Berliner me. It became impossible for me to speak about my work on
its own terms anymore while I was in Istanbul. I found my-
For someone like me, who has spent decades making films self witnessing a moment in Turkish history where people were
about his family, his name, his insomnia and other intimate willing to risk their lives for the freedom to express themselves
aspects of his personal life, experiencing the gravity of the situ- something Ive always taken for granted as an American citi-
ation in Istanbul how the citizens of a city, of a country, of zen. I was so magnetized by the situation that I stopped think-
a society, felt the urgency to confront and challenge the very ing about the reasons for my visit, and wanted to go outside
essence of their social contract- had to challenge the way I and join the protest. The truth is I went to Istanbul to give a
understand my role as a filmmaker. Suddenly the particular master class and it was I who learned the most!
motivations and aspirations that have always guided me didnt From Intimate Stranger, about his deceased grandfather, to
appear to matter anymore. I was magnetized by the urgency of Nobodys Business about his father, to The Sweetest Sound, which
the Turkish people, and tear gas had now become a metaphor: explore his own name, Berliners fascinating work deals largely
We either express ourselves or we suffocate. It unsettled many with identity, memory and the human condition, inspired by
of the basic assumptions I had about the role of art in society, stories from his life and his family.
and I left Istanbul quite shaken. In 1980 I made a short experimental collage film called
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IN FOCUS: ALAN BERLINER
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