Deep in The Universe

Deep in the Universe is an anatomy of the tragic cycle that has remained unchanged since the dawn of history: violence, hypocrisy, and the search for profound self-compassion. The film contrasts Yunus Emre’s message of human brotherhood against humanity’s darkest artistic legacy, asking: "Where was I in the beginning?"

In the film, the primal bloodshed of Léon-Jean-Bazille Perrault’s "The First Murder", the visceral tyranny of Goya’s "Saturn Devouring His Son", and the societal hypocrisy of James Ensor’s "The Intrigue" resonate with the haunting truth: "My human brother's fate will always turn in the wheels of the same waterwheel." The act of dreaming of Mawla is not an escape from this bloody history, but an attempt to confront the cold and deep path within one's own essence.

Why Stop-Motion?
I believe that this ancient philosophy can only be truly expressed by "touching the matter." The physical reality of stop-motion is chosen to directly convey the state of the soul as a "guest" in the body—the tangible sense of touch and the "cage" described in the narration. Every frame carries the imperfect, living traces of hand-crafted labor, distancing itself from the sterile nature of the digital realm, reminding us that even the dagger that pierces the body is, in the end, part of the same earth.

  • Yağmur Kartal Karakuş
    Director
    Eflatun
  • Ali Salduz
    Writer
  • Ezgi Özfen
    Writer
  • Yağmur Kartal Karakuş
    Writer
  • Cüneyt Karakuş
    Producer
    Eflatun
  • Emre Erçil
    Key Cast
    Kösem Sultan
  • Mehmet Haluk Kartal
    In memory of my father
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Biçare
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Genres:
    Stop-Motion, Horror, Drama, Surrealist, Fantasy, Mystery, Sufism
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    8,675,725 TRY
  • Country of Origin:
    Türkiye
  • Country of Filming:
    Türkiye
  • Language:
    Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    Dijital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Yağmur Kartal Karakuş

She was born in Istanbul in 1990. Kadıköy Fine Arts High School, where she went to be involved in cinema when she was 14, started in the TV and cinema section. She made herself enthusiastically interested in examining all the technical information in the cinema, trying and telling all kinds of stories. In 2009, she won the visual communication & Radio, Cinema and TV department of Kocaeli University. She graduated from both universities with high degrees. She worked in large companies in Istanbul in the field of post production and cinema. She directed the post apocaliptic short film "The Breath" in 2017. This film received degrees in 12 film festivals and was shown in international festivals.

In 2016, Kocaeli University started a master's degree in communication sciences. He graduated from the master's degree in 2019 with a high score. She wrote a thesis titled "The mythological origins of evil in post-2000 Scandinavian cinema".

She shot many commercials with the Stop Motion technique. She founded Latrak Film in 2019. She won many awards in national and international festivals with her film "The Toymaker Hidden Heirloom", which she finished in 2020. She became the director of the most awarded documentary film of 2020.

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Director Statement

Deep in the Universe is an anatomy of the tragic cycle that has remained unchanged since the dawn of human history: violence, hypocrisy, and the search for profound self-compassion. At its core, the film embraces the wisdom of the 13th-century Sufi poet Yunus Emre, contrasting his message of universal brotherhood against humanity’s darkest artistic and historical legacy.

In the film, the primal bloodshed of Léon-Jean-Bazille Perrault’s "The First Murder", the visceral tyranny of Goya’s "Saturn Devouring His Son", and the societal hypocrisy of James Ensor’s "The Intrigue" resonate hauntingly with the narrative voiceover: "The fate of my human brother will revolve in the gears of the same mill." When the character leans his back into the hollow of a tree to dream of the Divine, it is not an escape from this bloody history, but an attempt to confront the "Nefs" (the ego/shadow self) and one's own inner darkness.

Why Stop-Motion?
I believe that this ancient philosophy can only be truly expressed by "touching the matter." The physical reality offered by stop-motion is chosen to directly convey the state of human "guestship" in this world—the tangible sense of touch and the "cage of the body" described in the narration. Every frame carries the imperfect, living traces of hand-crafted labor, distancing itself from the sterile nature of the digital realm.