OBJECTINGFLOWERS

“Iprefernotto!”

LeventDuran

Animation Documentary Musical

2

Logline

“ObjectingFlowers”ismadeofthestoriesfromsevendifferentmenwhoescapefromobligatoryarmy

serviceoveryears.Eventhoughtheyaremostnon-violentpeople,theircountryconsidersandtreatsthem

likecriminalsandpushthemtoliveillicitlyoutsidethesystem.

Thesesweetguyschallengethetragicdespairofthesituationwiththeircreativepassionsandfreespirits.

Theyturnthetragedyintoblossom.Thepoeticlifestoriestheyhavebuiltupandtheutopiccharactersthey

haveturnedintoarewantedtobesharedwiththeworldinacontemporaryepic.

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StorySummary/SynopsisI.

InHorozya,anunknown,smallandfantasticcountrylying

betweenTheMediterraneanandtheMiddleEast,militarismand

violencearebasicelementsoflife.Childrenareraisedwith

consciousnessofenemitythroughadullmilitarydiscipline

startingfromthefirstgradeatschool.Everyman,attheageof

20,isobligedtohaveamilitaryeducationtobecomeasoldierfor

severalmonthsoryears,andeventakepartinthecivilwarofthe

countryandsacrificehislifeforthesakeofother´spowerand

interestconflicts,ifnecessary.SincepeopleinHorozyaleadtheir

livesbydaringanddominatingeachother,militaryserviceis

perceivedasthebasiclifeeducationand“half-men”whohaven’t

performedtheirmilitarydutyarenotrecruitedforajobor

allowedtogetmarried.Theirlivesareconfinedbythelaw;they

cannottravel,beastudentorarenottreatedinpublichospital

whensick.

Talkingnegativelyaboutmilitaryisobviouslyprohibitedand

thosewhoturnothersagainstmilitaryservicearechargedwitha

two-yearprisonsentence.These“brave”menreachingtheageto

servetheirduty,unlesstheyarechronicpatients,obeseover100

kg,handicapped,mentallyillorpassivegay-onconditionthat

theyproveit-,arenamedasABSENTEEandcalledformilitary

service.

However,eveninHorozya,therearestillpeoplewhorefuseto

servetheirdutyowingtosomeevilcharacteristicsofhuman

nature.Morethanamillionabsenteesandlessthanahundred

“conscientiousobjectors”whohaveopenlydeclaredtheirrefusal

tocollaboratewithmilitaryorganizations.

Undernormalcircumstances,theseonemillionandahundred

men,andespeciallythe100objectorswouldbeconsideredto

haveasufferingandtragiclife.Conscientiousobjectorseven

coinedatermof“civildeath”inordertoexplainthecase.Yet

someexamplesarejusttheopposite:

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II.

Mayıs,Cemal,Berkay,Yavuz,Kenan,MemetandAşkındriftedout

ofthe“normallifeforms”afterchoosingnottoservetheirmilitary

duty,recognizedthatthedisidentificationandanomalywhichthey

foundthemselvesinwasactuallypositive.Driftingawayfromthe

system,theyuseditasachancetoapproachtheversionsof

themselvesthattheyhadalwaysimaginedtobe.Inthisanomaly,

apartfromseveralvitalhardships,therewasalsoafreedomand

magicspacewhichcanneverbediscoveredinanyotherway.

Someexperiencedthisprocessbynevergettingoutoftheirhomes,

andsomekeptmoving,onandon.Somelefttheircountryand

immigratedtootherlandsandsomesettledinthewoodstoleada

simplelifefarfromanyauthority.Butintheend,thecharacters

mentionedabovehavealwayshappenedtopassutopias,

transcendentvibesandtemporaryautonomouszones:Hippiegatherings,voluntaryfarms,anarcho-comunes,artistdwellings,

astraltravels,bodyandenergyschools,streetmusic,newpolitical

campaigns,artworkshops,artistresidences,rhythmcamps,

retreats,squathouses,actual“beatgeneration”experience

adaptationsandsoon.

Thesebeautifuls,whileavoidingsomethingtheydonotwanttobe

exposedto,haven’tbeendeceivedbythe“necessity”ofrestricting

theirlivesandsurrender,inotherwordsrejectedthenotionof

beinganalternativesacrificiallamb,whichrescuedthemfrom

beingconsideredasvictimsandturnedtheminto“utopic”charactersthatmanypeoplewoulddescribeasfantasticorunreal.

ObjectingFlowersisthefilmofthesespecialpeople’sspontaneous

creativity,therealspiritualfreedomandtheiranarcho-mystical

poetry.

Afilmwhichisincoherencewiththeconceptof‘UTOPIA’tryingto

awakenthefantasmaof‘peace’.

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Genre:

PoliticalDocumentary,Animation,Musical

ObjectingFlowersisnotanordinarydocumentarymoviewherethesepeoplesitdownonchairsandtell

their life stories, and in the mean time make a superficial anti-militarism propaganda. Objecting

Flowers´sgoal is tobecomeanartisticexperiencewherebothcontentandmethod,themeand image

are in harmonybothonanartisticandphilosophical level. In that sense ithas in commonwith three

genres:documentation,arthouseandanimation(Thedocumentationsareplannedtobeanimatedwith

therotoscopetechniqueinthepost-productionphase.)

InObjectingFlowers fictionand documentation intertwines in different layerswhichdonotdominate

eachother:

1. Storiesandbiographies

2. Themesandtalks

3. Voiceoffsandsongs

4. Backgroundsandplaces

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TopicSummary/Concept

I

Thephilosopyof‘Iprefernotto’:

‘Intoday’sworld,weresistasmuchbywhatwedoasbywhatwedonot.’

Inthepresentworldwheretheconventionalmeaningsofpowerandlibertyhaveradicallychanged,it

seemsthatthetransformingpoweroftheperformance-basedpoliticalacthasbeenreduced.Whatwe

haveinreturnistheriseofanactivistculture,inwhichpoliticalethicsandbehaviouraswellasthe

conceptofcounter-subjectaregainingimportance.Thenewcounter-cultureandtheformofactionare

centredupon‘nottodo.’

Thesecurrents,thefoundationsofwhichwerelaidinthe19thcenturybyphilosophersofindividualistanarchismandcivildisobediencesuchasHenryDavidThoreauandMaxStirner,wererevisitedin1968

asitiswellknown.After1960s,especiallyintheindustrializedcountries,thewelfarelevelsofthe

workingclassesandthesphereofindividuallibertiesweresomehowstabilized,andthustheboundaries

ofpoliticalactivismexpandedtowardsidentity-basedstrugglesandthecriticismsoftheconsumerist

culture.Foucauldianconceptsofbiopoliticalresistanceandthepoliticalethicsgraduallytookonnewsignificances.Backtoday,moreandmorepeoplegarneraprincipleoflifefromthefamousmottoofthe

19thcenturyprotagonistBartlebytheScrivener:Iprefernotto!

Today,weseetheriseofatidebywhichagrowingnumberofpeopledenyeatingmeatandanimal

products,wearinganimalskins,boardingplanesandbuyingpre-packagedproducts.Allthesebecome

onepossiblewayoflifeandformofaction.Althoughsuchanactivismagainstconsumptioniscriticized,

sometimesrightly,bythoseauthorslikeZizekandmetbysuspicionabouttheextenttowhichitmay

contributeintorealchange,thissubjectisstillcrucialinrelationtotheprevailingcultureofhumanity

andtherisingofconsciousness.

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TopicSummaryII

Counter-Subject,de-identificationandqueerness

WithFoucault'sconceptionofPower,wearefreeintheonlywayin

whichitispossibletobefree:freetosee,toperceivewhatPoweris

immediatelyconfrontingus,andtoconsequentlypracticeliberty

uponthatspecificPower,ratherthanabstractlyandintangibly

“possessing”it.Thus,Foucault'sresultingpraxisofResistanceis

imbuedwithacertainexistentialistlight-heartedness.Wearefreed

fromanyandallsocialmores,philosophical,religiousorideological

phenomena–anythingwhichclaimstobeabsolute–bythe

recognitionthatPower,asintheWater,flowsunder,around,above

andthroughallofthesephenomena.ThisconceptionofPowernot

onlyallowsResistance–itexistentiallyrequiresit.IfPowerisnotan

entitybutarelationalcreation,ifallPowerrelationsnecessitatethe

possibilityofescape,thenPowernecessarilyimpliesresistance.

Powerneedsresistance.

Therefore,whenwetalkaboutacoherentmodelof‘resistance

relation’toreplacethe‘powerrelation’,wemusttalkaboutan

individualwhohasno(andwhodoesnotbuild)permanent

links/connectionstotheconstructionalelementsofthesystem,such

asprofession,identity,careeretc.Thisisanindividualwhoisready

todestroyandrebuildherselfandanyrelationwithanythingor

anybody,atanytime.Shehasto‘change’veryoften.Whatfollowsis

thereconstructionofherlifeasaspaceofaction,andthecreationofthesensethattheprimarymilieuinwhichshemayexperience

changeandutopiaatoneandthesametimeisherveryownlife.

Withinthisframework,adraft-dodgerasa‘permanentcriminalofthought’isagoodcandidateforfrequentlyexperiencingwhatittakestobethecounter-subject.Hecutsoffallhisrelationswiththe

superstructurelikeschools,hospitalsandtheprofessionallife.Hedeniesinhabitingagenderedbodyasaman.Shehastolearn‘being’andtolivefreefromhegemonicidentities,creditcardsand

theprofessionaltitles.Thechangethustakesacertainperiodoftime

butlastsforeverinsuchawaythatitcarriesavalueofexchangingknowledgeacrossgenerations.Moreover,shewouldillustratethat

individualchoicesandlifeexperiencesmatterasmuchassocial

movementsandorganizationsdo.

Anextensionofaruptureofthiskind,thedraft-dodgercharacter

locateswithinthesphereoffeminism.Itisnocoincidencethatin

TurkeyandIsrael,groupsofconscientiousobjectionhavebeen

grownincloserelationshipwiththefeministmovementandareone

oftherareorganizationsof‘men’whichisabletoengagewith

feministorganizations.

Thedraft-dodgerresigns,ontheonehand,fromthenationalistpart

ofthesocialcontractand,ontheotherhand,willfullyor

spontaneouslycutsoffthetiestogender.Keepinginmindthe

degreetowhichitisdifficult,evenimpossibletostepoutofthe

genderroles,suchanactshouldbeconsideredasanapproximation,

aclueintheprocesswhichthesubjectsofdraft-dodger’sstoriesgo

throughtofinally‘become’changed.Ihaveobservedthatmeand

myfriendsinthevideo,aslikewisesubjectswhowere‘different’at

theverybeginning,getdifferentevenmorethroughouttheprocess.

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TopicSummaryIII

Actualimportanceofthetopic

Militarism and violence are among the biggest problems of thewholeworld ,

primarilyoftheMiddleEast.

Even in countries like Turkey, Israel and Greece which are considered as

countriesadapted to “modern times”mandatoryarmyservice stillprevails. In

the whole Middle East, especially in countries like Turkey, Israel and Iran,

movementsofsocial changeand reformwhicharenecessary inordertobring

peaceanddemocracy-initsmostroughsense-arenotabletooccursincethe

generalculturearound isdominatedbymilitarismandthe“enemy”cult. It is

nocoincidencethatmostoftheoppositionalorganisationsandmovementsare

basedon sanctificationof violenceandheroworshipandcannotbracea real

change.

In order to break this cycle and to build a future without violence it will be

helpful that new generations will get in touch with a sincere discourse and

practiceaboutpeace.AnditisextraimportantthatthisfilmemergesfromtheMiddleEastgeographywhereviolenceandwararepresent.

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TopicSummaryIV

Localimportanceofthetopic

InTurkey,menover20yearsolddocompulsorymilitaryserviceforperiodschanging

from6monthstooneandahalfyear.Althoughthecountryisnotactivelyinwar,

nearly1millionmenarekept(captive)underarmsallthetime.Accordingto

confidentialresearchandestimates,30%ofyoungmeninthearmyarevoluntaryand

willing,20%feelneutralanddisinterested,and40%areforciblyandinvoluntarily

there.Furthermore,therearegenerally1millionto5milliondraft-dodgerorBAKAYA

(absentee)inTurkey,thetermpointingtomenoutsidethearmywhereastheyshould

bein.Whentheystayinahotel,goabroad,walkinthestreetorgofromonecityto

another,theyriskfacingwiththefrequentIDcontrolsbythepolice.Oncedisclosed,

theyaredetainedandtheproceduretosendthemtothearmystarts.Theabsentees

maybetakenfromahotelroominthemidnight,dischargedfromatrainorabus,or

stoppedatthepassportcontroldesk.Assuchtheymaymisstheirflightorbetaken

awayevenduringtheirweddingceremony.Duetothesesituationstheycontinuously

riskfacingwith,absenteesarenotbeingrecruitedintojobs,admittedtohigher

educationandevenrejectedbythefamiliesoftheirpartnerswhentheyconsider

gettingmarried.

Theprospectivechangeinthecompulsorymilitaryservicelawcanbeachievedbythe

attitudes,demandsandactionsofthegroupof40%whogotothearmyagainsttheirwill,andofthefamilieswithacomparablepercentagewhoundesirablysendtheir

childrentothearmy.Theonlythingwhichmaychangepeople’sfatalistic/submissive

attitudeonthissubjectistochangethewidespreadbeliefthattheirlifewouldbe

ruinediftheydonotjointhearmy.Inthissense,ObjectingFlowersisafirst.The

disseminatedvibrationandthelimitedamountofoutputonthissubject,whichhasso

farbeenproducedconcurrentlybythestate,politicalopponentsandthemovementof

conscientiousobjectors,focusonthedramaticandtragicexperiencesthedraft-

dodgershavehadtoendure.Instarkcontrasttothisparalyzingnarrative,Objecting

Flowerswilldrawattentiontothepositivestoriesandmodels.ObjectingFlowerswill

goafterthesenseofHOPEandreminditatatimewhenthecountrysuffersfrom

hopelessness.Especiallyinsuchatimewhensocialoppositionandalternativevoices

aretotallysilenced,hopeisaburningneed.

Whatismoreimportantthantheonespreviouslyputisthesensethat“thisispossibleaswell”thefilmObjectingFlowersisexpectedtocreate.Thissensewouldbethe

tangiblecontributionintoanaimedbreakupwiththepracticeslikebeingstuckinto

victimhood,learnedhelplessnessandanegativeromanticismwhichreachesuptoa

pointofpoliticalmasochism.Asamatteroffact,theseareallcommonamongthe

leftistandalternativeculturewhichitisfairlyexpectedtobedrivingchangeinvital

issuessuchascompulsorymilitaryserviceandthevictimhoodculture.Thelatter

requireurgentreforms,andthequestionistomobilizetherelevantcirclesina

constructivemanner.

Putdifferently,theprojectisaimedtomakethose,whodonotwanttojointhearmy

UnexpectedI.Dcard

controlbythepolicein

Istanbul.Thisisa

randomeventwhich

canoccureanytime,

anywhere.

CapturefromIstanbul

Streetsatthedayof

TransPride.

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TopicSummaryV

Connectedconceptframeworkandtopicstobediscussed:

UTOPIA POLITICALIMAGINATION COLOROFQUEER FEMINISM

INDIVIDUALANARCHİSM POST-STRUCTURALİSM SCHISO-SUBJECT UNIDENTIFICATION

FALLINGOUTOFCODESANDNORMS TEMPORARYAUTONOMOUSZONES SPONTANEOUS

DAYLIFECREATIVITY THEFRAGMENTATIONOFTHEMALEIDENTITY PROBLEMS OF OPPOSING

CULTURES CONCEPTOFNOMADISMANDNEST(HOME) POSITIVEASPECTSOFFEAR THE

İDEAOFPEACE TO CONSIDER THE IDEA OF PEACE FROM POETICAL RELIGIOUS SOURCES SUCH AS JESUS,

GANDHI,MEVLANA ZENPHILOSOPHYANDPRACTICE LETYOURSELFFLOWASARESISTANCE THE

DERIGHTTOLIVEPOETICLIVES(CHICAGOSURREALISTDECLARATION) TODEFINEYOUROWNDESTINIY IN THE

SPİRİTUALANDEXISTENTIALCONTEXT LIFEASANARTWORK(FOUCAULT) NON-WARRIOR

MODELOFTHEREBELHERO TOEMBRACEPEACEASAPERMANENTWAYOFLIFE

TRANSFORMATIONOFPASSIVERESISTANCEINTOACONSTRUCTIVEACTION BİO-AND MICRO-SIDE OF

ACTIVISMISCOVEREDBYANENTIREDAILYLIFEPRACTICE ROADASSLOT SQUAT HOUSES,

ECO-COMMUNES, FORESTCAMPS,VOLUNTEERFARMS,TEMPORARYARTİSTAUTONOMİES, PROJECTS,RESİDENCY

ANDWORKSHOPS INALLTHESE,THEESTABLISHMENTOFIDENTITY NOMADİSM HOME AND

EVENTHEFEELİNGOFHOMELAND BONDSBETWEENBODYHEALTHANDPASSIVERESISTANCE BODY

ANDHEALTHISSUESOFNON-INSUREDLIVES ALTERNATIVE LIFE INFORMATION AND VALUES. DO YOU

HAVEAMORALCODE? LAWENFORCEMENT,GUILT,MENTALHEALTHMEASURESANDPREVENTIVESTUDIES

ANDPSYCHOLOGİCALİSSUES THE CONSTRUCTİON OF SEXUAL IDENTITY AS AN ANTI-MILITARIST

CRIMINALBODY/SOUL THERELATIONSHIPWITHFEMINISTSOCIETYANDVALUESASMENOFOTHERKINDS

THERELATIONSHIPBETWEENSTAYINGOUTOFTHESYSTEMANDTHENOTIONSOFARTANDCRAFTSMANSHIP

THESUBJECTOFPERSONALTALENTS,ARTANDLIFESUBJECTSANDOTHERARTSUBJECTS

FAMİLYRELATIONS FRIENDSHIPSANDOTHERSOCIALRELATIONS HEROISMANDALTURISM

RELATIONSHIPWITHECONOMICSITUATIONS,MONEYANDOTHERPERSONALFORCES

THEIDEAOFTHEFUTURE RELATIONSWITHTHEFUTURE

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TopicSummaryVI

MyPersonalConnectionwiththetheme

WhilestudyingsociologyattheIstanbulUniversity,Istartedtopublishananti-militaristicyouth

magazine.InthattimeIwasnotawarehowessentialsuchamovementwas.Ourmagazine

convertedintoalargemovementintheshortestnotice,involvingmorethenhundredwritersinthe

ageofbetween15and25andcreatinganumerousnetworkofactivists,withfirsthundredlater

thousandyoungpeopledemostratingagainsttheIraqWarin2002.Ourregularmeetingsduring

threeyearswerejoinedbymorethenthousandpeople.Inthosemeetingswehavebeentalking

aboutallkindofthemesofthenewpoliticactivism-fromqueergenderpoliticstoclimatechange-.

OurmagazinehasbeenbannedbysentencejustaftersomeeditionsandIhavebeenfinedaserious

amountofmoney.Thepenalty´sgoalwasrathertoexcludemefromothercriticalactivitiesbya

threat.

Intheyearof2005Ibecameoneofthe50socalled“conscientiousobjectors”byreadingapoetical

textinfrontofthemainarmybuildinginAnkara,explainingmypersonal,ethical,conscientious

reasonstoavoidtheobligatoryarmyservice.AbouttenyearsIhavebeenlivingasadraftdodger,

outofsystem,withoutpassport,withoutinsurance,asacareerless,homelessperson,whocouldnot

continueheracademiceducation,andasacontemporaryartistwhocouldnotexhibitinmajor

institutionsforthesamereason.Iexperiencedthe“challenge”ofestablishingmyowncreativelife

storyinthespaceofdifficulties.Inthisway,Ibegantorealizehowimportantandpossibleitisfor

metorealizemyownlifeinapositiveorbitbyrecognisingandexceedingtheplasticityofthe

boundariesandIstartedtoexperienceitwitharisinggraph.

Inthisperiod,Imetmycontemporaries,whohadsimilarexperienceswithme,andwhonoware

partofthisfilm,andwhomIhaveadmiredforyearsastheirfriend.Ineverthoughtthatmy

adventureinartandcreationwouldmakemewanttomakeafilmwiththemoneday.Butnowthis

projectseemstobeanimportantdebtthatIhavetopayintermsofbothsocialandindividual

memory.Asaresponsetothemiraclesthatareeasilygiventousinallthoselimitsandtensions,

whenwereallywantto,andwhenwetakeonthestruggle.Alsoasalittlegifttothesebeautiful

people,deservingtobecomeacartoonhero,Iamfanof.

Lastly,in2015,Iwasrelievedoftheobligationtodomilitaryservicebypayingitoffthankstoaonly

onemonthlastinglaw(inamiraculouswayIwillmentioninthemovie)and2016Idecidedtomove

toGermanywithmypartnertowelcomeourbabyinGermanyinalessviolentenvironment.Thatis

whyIfeelmyselfrelievedtotalkaboutaprohibitedsubjectthroughmyownartisticlanguage.All

thismakesmethinkI'mthemostappropriatepersontomakeamovieaboutit.

Iamsurethattheordinaryspeechesonthissubjectwillbeboringandineffective.Ibelievethatmy

whimsicalstyleintheartisticfieldmayrisethismoviefromanordinarydocumentaryfilmtoan

multidimensionalartfilm.

‘… I have to say that despite all it’s

difficulties Iowea lot to theprocessof

beinganabsentee.Due to this Ihad to

travel around the world and learn

English, improve my personal skills on

music, performance and painting; also

cookingandtravelling,gettoknowthe

principlesofbodyandenergy…Ialways

had to search for an indipendent

alternative place to stay, and question

my identityall the time.Lookingback I

can honestly say that all those things

arethemost importantelementsofmy

existence!…’-FromaninterviewwithL.D.-

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MOMO barely left the house for around 6 years as he did not want to do his military service after earning his degrees in law and philosophy. He dreamed of being in humanless spaces opening into immense emptiness whenever he felt overwhelmed. He sat by a frozen lake or looked at a plain from a hill with red earth or walked on a long track meandering through mountain meadows. Berkay, who

is among the most kind-hearted and agreeable people in the world, has become the committed person he always wished to be, growing deeper as a special writer and translator during the years he spent with translations of philosophical texts, his cat, and a few friends. He could have gone to another country if he wanted to...

COCO S. was stressed out by being ''searched'' by the police during ID checks on the street after he dropped out of the department of painting for the reason he decided that dreaming of becoming an artist is really boring. He and his painter friend Ade decided to embark on a crazy adventure and went to Russia. They did not have the money, nor did they speak Russian (or English). They did not have any contacts or a plan. Shortly

afterwards, COCO had a small room in some sort of an autonomous place in a St. Petersburg suburb inhabited by dozens of underground people and artists. In a couple of years he once again started to believe that the kind of art he believes in could exist and started to paint again while learning how to play the trumpet and making avant-garde music. He was invited to Istanbul to have a celebratory exhibition by an art gallery owner relative following the issuance of the statement that deserters would be released on payment. COCO returned to the country with a roll of large-scale expressionist paintings in his hand that are the mirror of his free spirit. His exhibition was celebratory indeed; COCO was on TV and the most prestigious art review magazines while his paintings were included in important collections. He could

have burnt his ID card and lived as a tramp on the street instead of going to another country...

BOBO continued his DISENGAGEMENT process he started by dropping out of high school, leaving his city and family. He threw his ID card in the bin and started to live life freely at an age he could be considered a child. He naturally became a deserter when he passed the age of 18. He left the city he lived in and moved to Ankara where he could easily hide on the street and started to work in casual jobs illicitly. He gradually

got to know the street and lived as a broke homeless street artist without an ID. Meanwhile he discovered libraries and grew to like rock music and modern poetry. He released his work by himself under the name Samsara Şarkıları (Samsara Songs) in which he read his incredible poems while playing the oldest guitar in the world. He lived like a guest in big cities as a true tramp and a true anarchist free from money and status of any sort, and became one with his guitar. He sneaked in psychedelic forest festivals he hitchhiked to and kept dancing the whole time. He had a long summer caravan trip among a group of 15–20 hippie youngsters along with a horse and a few baby chicks following the rainbow meeting. He was never dependent on anything including the hard drugs he used; he took everything lightly except

for enjoying the moment he is in. While living his life on a fine line between being an expert tramp and a practicing Zen priest, he suddenly fell in love, suddenly became a father, suddenly acquired an ID card and a passport and was suddenly forced to do his military service, which could be considered a stage of Zen practice, at the age of 42. His 20-year old girlfriend was pregnant at the time thus there was no room for crisis, so MIRI had to do his military service in a mountain village in the war zone. He had a son while serving in the military. Perhaps MIRI would have planned to flee from the barracks the first day he arrived if it were not for the sensitive situation concerning the baby...

CHARACTERSANDTHEIRSTORIES

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KAF K. intended to do his military service as an ordinary rural boy who is not politically conscious. However, he realized it was not for him when he stepped in the barracks and started to plan his escape. He fled at the first opportunity. He got caught after spending 2 years illicitly and served 6 months of sentence and then

fled from the troop unit he was recruited into at the first opportunityand then got

caught again and then was sentenced again and then he managed to flee from the military prison this time. He got caught again and served a longer time in prison and was recruited into a more secure troop unit. KAF managed to flee from there as well. His friends in the unit opened fire on him while he was running. When he met these friends as civilians later on, they told him that they actually thought well of him and they fired into the air because they had to fire. KAF finally received a paper saying that he did not have to do his military service after spending his 20s in a triangle (or a loop) of military unit, prison, and desertion. If KAF was politically conscious from the beginning, he would never recruit and perhaps he would live as a deserter for the rest of his life...

JOJO B. has been living as a deserter for around 30 years. Being one of the

first conscientious objectors of Turkey, Yavuz has had more than 20 jobs and has tens of different life stories. JOJO has become a total DIY expert in years insomuch that he will be building his little nature house in an autonomous natural site in the Mediterranean region during the shooting of the film. How would it be if JOJO chose one long distance migration and moved to a European country instead of going through many short distance migrations...

OXY G. found himself in the position of a deserter after graduating from the department of photography in the most prestigious faculty of fine arts in the country. He got married as a result of a love story, which is so legendary that it cannot be made public with a film, and moved to Berlin. While living in an autonomous caravan, which is a social project home at the same time, OXY started to play the trumpet and grew deeper into music and horticulture. What if OXY migrated to a smaller country in the northeast instead of migrating to Europe?

MAY B. left his country and settled in a mountain village in Georgia in 2018. He is a translator, a poet and a traveller. He lives in mountain villages away from cities with his dog friend Haiku, wanders in forests and is concerned with Zen

Buddhism, Taoism, Beat Generation writers, and the philosophy of eco-anarchism as well as mushrooms and healing herbs. Also, he plays a small antique Zarathustra saz called cura. People's admiration for MAY can easily be observed on social media for he realized the utopia many people living in cities dream about. He has really been thinking about and searching for home for these years of wandering which has become his specialty after changing places constantly. Being a deserter for 15 years, MAY became known for the case he was charged with the crime of alienating the people from military service and he acquitted thereafter.

14

NotesforVoiceOversandSongs:

Thevoiceoverswillconsistfromlinesoutofdiaries,scethbooks,lettres

andsocialmediaentries.

Thesongsareinthepreparatıonprocessalready.Thosesongswillbe

short,poeticandhaveelementsfromrnbandfreakfolkgenres.Thesongs

willbesangandplayedinstrumentallybythedraftdodgers.

Wewouldliketoasksomepopularcontemporarymusiciansthe

characterslike(DevendraBanhard,TomWaits,PipilottiRist,EmilyWells,

UrsulaRucker)tocontributewiththeirmusicintothemovie.

“daddybuymeaknife/thatIcanchoponionsandcryflowersdaddyflowers/thatIcandigintotheearthofmyheartbuymeaflagdaddy/thatIcancleanthedirtofmyhandsbuymeapieceofearthdaddy/thatIhidemyheadinside”

“I ARRİVED AT TBILISI. IN THE DAYTIME, I'LL BE

ATTENDING THE MEETINGS OF A GROUP WHO ARE

TAKINGTHEFIRSTSTEPSTOWARDSANECOVILLAGE.AT

NIGHTS, EXPLORING THE UNIQUE FLORA OF THIS

STRANGEYETAMAZINGFORESTCALLED"THECITY"…”

AcurrentsocialmediaentrybyMayB.01-03-2019

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Locations/Places:

Oneofthefactorsthatwillcarryavisualappearancetothetasteof

utopiaisthattheplaceswherecharactersusuallylivetemporarilyare

experimentalspaces,allverydiferentfromeachother.

TemporaryAutonomousZonesasmentionedinthebookbytheSufi-

anarchistwriterHakimBeywiththesametitle:arainbowgatheringfar

fromanythinginthedepthoftheforest,orananarchistoccupation

zoneintheheartofthecity(Christiania/Copenhagen),thework-away

system,wherevolunteerslivefreeinreturnforwork,ahard-corebody

andenergycamprecommendedonlytoyoungpeoplewhoagreeto

participateinaspecialandverydifficultmeditationworkout,an

experimentofsilenceinthemiddleofacreekbed,aneco-communein

theMediterraneanmountains,aWagen-PlatzinBerlin…

Ialsointendtopreparethespaceswherethetalksaregoingtotake

place,toconvertthembyaddingvisuallayersbyapplingastencilto

thewallofthespace,orbyreflectingaspecialfloortoanice-skating

rinketc…

AnanimalprotectionProjectinCosta-

RicaCouldbeaperfecttemporaryhome

ofadraft-dodger!

16

17

NotesforArtisticApproach

• ‘WhatIdreamofisafilmwhichisincoherencewiththeconceptof‘UTOPIA’,trying

toawakenthefantasmaof‘peace’.‘

• IseeObjectingFlowersasanexperimentaldocumentaryfilmwithlotsoflayersand

sides,realstoriesintertwinedwithfictionandmusicalexpression.

• Idonotwanttocreateafilmwhichcanbeguessedinadvancebytheaudiencereading

thelogline.Idon’tbelievethesocialinputofanysurfacepropagandistworkneither.

References:

• Iwouldlikeittobecomeagenerationcultmovielike“TheWall”,avisuallegendary

like“HolyMountain”,independentandfreesuchas“WakingLife”,anintellectual

manifestationfullofdailylifepoliticsandnewwaysofliving,anexperimentalfiction

cinemasometime,ananimationdocumentaryanothertime;veryseriousonecological

topicsandchildishongenderissuesandotherpersonalpolitics;sometimessofastand

urbanlike“November”,anothertimejustslowandstabilelikea“KimKiDuk”movie.

RotoscopeTechnique:

• Animportantthingofthecreativevisionofthemovieismyconsiderationon

transformingtheentiremovieintotheanimationatthestageofpost-productionvia

therotoscopetechniqueIamcurrentlyresearchingon.(Themovies”WakingLife”and

“HaveaNiceDay”aregoodreferencesforthis.)Rotoscopedanimationwithsucha

seriouspoliticalsubjectwillbringaninnovativeanduniquelanguageanddistinguish

themoviefromotherdocumentariesIbelieve.AlsoIexpectfromthistobringthe

tasteofutopic/politicalimaginationintothefilm.

Speechesonmotion:

• ObjectingFlowersisadocumentaryaboutstoriesandapproachessotherewillbealotofspeechesinit.ThesespeechesIconsiderasriskpointsformakingthemovietoo

static.ThatiswhyIplantoshootthespeechesincompletedifferentmotionsand

speciallocations:speakingpeoplewhilewalking,speakingwhilewalkingbackwardson

acrowdedstreetofIstanbul,sittingonthebrunchofahugetreewithhisdogfriend

andtellingthingstoher,tryingtostayupwithskatingoniceandtalkingloudlyabouta

veryserioustopic,ordancingwithsomebody(definetlymaletomale)andtalking

abouteatingstylesandetc…

• Songsandoutvoiceswillbehelpingtocreatethepoeticmoodofalwaysbeinga

voyager/flaneur,alwaysonthewayorontheair.

• Ifindtherootsofthisworkinmysympathytothosepeople.SoatthemomentIam

thinkingabouttheshootingstyletoreflectthissympathywithoutbeingcheesyor

reclamative.

• Visualimages:Therewillbeanimationsorsurrealisticscenescompanionstothe

speechesandsongs.

• Mostofthedraft-dodgersIamgoingtoworkwithareveryselectiveontheirwearing

styleandontheplacestheyhangout.Theirhousesalsolookveryspecialtome.This

willbeanaturalvisualsourcewhichwilleffectthefootageinapositiveway.

• Framingstylewillbeoneofmybiggest‘weapons’totalkaboutthe‘differenteye’.

Differenteyeisgoingtotrytowatchandseethecharacterswiththeeyesofnature

andnotonlythroughtheeyesofpersons.Thatmeansthatalotofotherelementsthen

thecharacterswillbeincludedintheframesuchas:apartofatreeorastone,seeing

thefeetinsteadofheadswillbeanoption.

• Despite all these different try-outs and experimental approaches to the shootings

ObjectingFlowerswillnotbeanexperimentalmovieonly. Itaimstoreachingouta

largepublic.