Up-and-coming Turkish director Belkis Bayrak is preparing his second feature, “A Brighter Word Than Bright,” which will be screened this week at the Transylvania Pitch Stop Co-Production Forum at Transylvania International Airport. Film festival. His directorial debut, Gülizar, had its world premiere at the Discovery Series in Toronto and was submitted to the New Directors Competition in San Sebastian.
A Brighter Word Than Bright, a portrait of grief and resilience, follows a young literature teacher who serves a five-year prison sentence for a death he did not cause in order to protect the dignity of a grieving woman, only to discover upon his release that the official truth has erased his sacrifice. Bayrak wrote the screenplay and the film was produced by Saba Film (Turkey), Arizona Film (France) and Plan Be Film (Kosovo).
The film begins in a Turkish military barracks, where a sensitive young conscript, Osman, develops a quiet but powerful bond with his superior, Ziya. In the strict, masculine world of the military, they find sanctuary in poetry and late-night conversation. That safe haven suddenly collapses when Jiya takes her own life.
Aware of the taboos surrounding suicide in Turkish society, Osman decides to take responsibility for Ziya’s death to avoid the shame, isolation, and public condemnation that his pregnant fiancée would face. In order to protect her and her unborn child’s future, Osman quietly makes a heavy sacrifice. He will spend five years in prison, claiming he was the one who abetted the suicide. The film follows Osman’s release, the two are reunited, and Osman tentatively begins to rebuild his life through his love of literature and education.
Speaking to Transylvania’s Variety magazine, Bayrak described Bright Words Than Bright as a film “about two men whose presence and absence had a huge impact on my life.” The film depicts a tragic episode from the director’s past, in which her uncle, who served in the Turkish army with her father, died by suicide, a tragedy that her family has not yet come to terms with.
Years later, Bayrak said he was the first of them to speak openly about the tragic death, breaking a silence that “still resonates with the family.” She sees the film not only as a “memorial gesture” to her uncle, but also an act of empathy for the wife, children, and other loved ones he left behind, arguing that “filmmaking is a way for all of us to recover.”
Taking its title from a John Keats poem, “A Brighter Word Than Bright” is partly inspired by Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” a biographical romantic drama based on the last three years of the 19th century poet’s life. Bayrak recalled being moved by Campion’s evocation of the “fragile” soul of the famous romantic poet, and said she saw in him a glimpse of her father, “a gentle and restrained character who managed to overcome life’s challenges,” much like his protagonist Osman.
To shape the world of the film, which is set in the 1990s, Bayrak dug into his family’s archives for inspiration, unearthing old photographs and letters to recreate the atmosphere of the time. She said that while she encountered many “beautiful moments” on this “nostalgic trip,” she “constantly feels” the “sense of loss” of her uncle outside the frame of each photo and beyond the margins of each page.
Bayrak describes her uncle as a man who struggled with an explosive temper, an issue of masculinity that she also hopes to explore and offer “a different representation of male characters” on screen.
“I think the definition of ‘man’ and ‘masculinity’ is very problematic today. It’s a burden on everyone,” she says. “The definition of what masculinity is is changing. It is becoming more rigid. There is less room for recognition, understanding and empathy.
“We’ve seen countless movies set in military and war settings that celebrate heroism and masculinity. But I’ve always been drawn to people who sit quietly on the margins, whose vulnerability is not weakness but perseverance,” she continued. “Osman is such a character. His story is about the long emotional aftermath of sacrifice, the impossibility of returning to one’s former self, and the hesitant rediscovery of kindness through teaching and art.”
The Transylvania International Airport Film Festival will be held from June 12th to 21st.
