Directed by Selim Alan
Koçer is the name given to nomadic Kurdish communities with no permanent settlements. They always live in tents, and animal husbandry is practically their only source of livelihood. Koçer’s have particular summer and winter settlements. As the weather starts to grow colder, they migrate to places with warmer weather conditions for their own shelter and to meet the needs of their animals. Because their settlements are located in highlands and grasslands near water between the mountains, they have limited communication with the outside world. Educational level, literacy rate and cultural level are low in These non-settled communities tend to have low levels of education, low literacy rates, and a patriarchal structure. Using old footage as well as new, Selim Alan’s film looks at what has changed and what has not in the lives of the koçers over time.
Selim Alan was born in 1982 in the Gevaş district of Van in Eastern Turkey. He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Van-Gevaş. In 2000, he joined the set team of the movie Vizontele shot in Gevaş, and this introduction to the film industry led him to Istanbul. He founded his own company in 2003, and has since been involved in many successful productions. In 2022, he received the award for ‘Best Art Director’ for his work on the feature film Turna Misali (‘The Last Birds of Passage’) at the 2nd Goldenhorn International Film Festival. He is continuing to develop his own projects while working as an art director.
