Directed by Deniz Devrez
This short doc from Deniz Devrez focuses on İmroz – the Greek name for the island in the Marmara Sea that is known in Turkish as “Gökçeada”. Through interviews with three of the island’s residents, the film beautifully portrays a difficult subject within a framework of tolerance. Against a background of old black and white photos, Yorgo Zarbozan (Barba Yorgo) reminisces about the peaceful life growing up on İmroz/Gökçeada before tensions arose between communities over “that damned Cyprus.” Two other islanders, Stelyo Berber and Mustafa Kıraç, are too young to remember the “years of stone”, but contribute to an understanding of the island’s recent history through family stories of the past, their own impressions of the island’s present, and their hopes for the island’s future.
Deniz Devrez was born on May 21, 2000 in Turkey. He graduated from the Cinema and Television Department of Anadolu University. While making his own independent films he continues to work in the film industry. After living on İmroz/Gökçeada for a few years, he got to know his Greek neighbors. Observing firsthand how they lived as a minority on their own island, still affected by the injustices of the past, Devrez decided he wanted to tell their stories through a documentary film. It’s Imroz for Them had its Turkish Premiere at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival in September 2023, which was followed by a special screening in Athens in December 2023. The film has since been shown at numerous festivals in Turkey and abroad. In 2024, it received awards for Best Film from the 2nd Topkapı Student Short Film Festival in Istanbul and Best Documentary from the 8th Çalı Köy Film Festival in Bursa.
