Private Project

Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th

No pain can be healed without mourning over it. What we aim to achieve with the documentary ‘Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th’ is actually to refresh the public’s memory and make it visible. If the memory is collective, then remembering does not take place in vacuum. We remember as members of a social group. Deep down of this social memory, there are lots of unidentified murders, tortures, executions and deep sorrows. This is the true story of the mothers who were brought together by the struggle against the military junta of September 12th in Turkey. Previously, they may not know much about what was going on in the country, in courts, police and gendarmerie stations; yet, they stood by their children against the junta no matter what happened, and they learned how to fight, how to resist and how to get organized.

  • Memik HORUZ
    Director
    17'nin Ötesi: Erdal Eren Davası
  • Sevim ERDEM
    Director
  • Eyyüp EPEKİNCİ
    Director
  • Memik HORUZ
    Producer
    17'nin Ötesi: Erdal Eren Davası
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Drama, Policy, History, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 10, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Turkey
  • Country of Filming:
    Turkey
  • Language:
    Kurdish, Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Eyyüp EPEKİNCİ
    Country: Turkey
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Memik HORUZ, Sevim ERDEM, Eyyüp EPEKİNCİ

MEMIK HORUZ (born in 1958)
He published commentaries, poems and stories in various newspapers and journals, and wrote a novel on the life of a confessor from a military prison during the September 12th military junta period in Turkey.

Filmography
Datça’nın Sokak Çalgıcıları (Street Musicians of Datça), 12 Eylül… Anneler Sorguluyor (September 12th… Mothers are questioning), 17’nin Ötesi- Erdal Eren Davası (Beyond 17- The Case of Erdal Eren), 12 Eylül Anneleri (Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th)

SEVIM ERDEM (born in 1955)
She worked for various women’s and environmental associations. She also worked as an editor at various publishing houses. She is a member of Human Rights Association and a voluntary camerawoman.

Filmography
Koro (Choir), 12 Eylül Anneleri (Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th)

EYYUP EPEKINCI (born in 1988)
He worked as a director assistant at various film sets. He also worked as a director of photography and did editing for student short film projects. He was the script writer, producer and director of his own short films. “Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th” is his first feature-length documentary.

Filmography
Bin Ax (Under the Ground), Öfke (Anger), 12 Eylül Anneleri (Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th)

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

There are pains which those in power try to conceal, pains which couldn’t be faced for years. For curing those pains, there needs to be confrontation and reconciliation. “Resisting the Junta: Mothers of September 12th”, which documents the memories of mothers for future generations, was completed in nine years. The documentary aims to make the mothers who resisted the junta visible, and revive the public’s memories about the military coup in Turkey in 1980.