şirin bahar demirel

2019, 52’, Documentary

‘Women’s Country’, follows the director’s everlasting search for the meaning of home. Often defined by memories and people, is it transient or stable? And can it be tied to a location? In an era where thousands of people are making perilous journeys to find a safe home while others discover new habitable planets in space, these questions cover more than the personal questioning of a Turkish filmmaker moving to the USA. Displaced by the war in Syria and resettled in Florida, USA, Fatima and Huda join her in exploring what it means to build a new home; to leave things and people behind, by choice or not, and how the past is weaved into the present.

Screenings & Awards

–Best Documentary Award, 56th Golden Orange Film Festival, Antalya, Turkey, 2019
–Special Mention Award, TRT International Documentary Awards, Istanbul, Turkey, 2022
-Unheard Stories Online Film Festival by EU, Belgium, 2021
-18th Festival du Cinéma de Turquie à Paris, Franc, 2021
-Orient Express Filmtage, Bern & Zurich & Basel, Switzerland, 2021
-Sharjah Film Platform, United Arab Emirates, 2021
-Festival of Migrant Films, Slovenia, 2020
-39th Istanbul International Film Festival, 2020
-31st Ankara International Film Festival, 2020
-Istanbul Modern Museum, Count Us In! Program, 2020
-Global Migration Film Festival, UK, 2020
-12th DOCUMENTARIST Istanbul Documentary Days, Turkey, 2019
-13th Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Film Festival, Turkey, 2019
-10th Which Human Rights? Film Festival, Batman, Turkey, 2019
-10th Human Rights Documentary Days, İzmir, Turkey, 2019