Yapım Tarihi - 2025
Süre - 01:01:23
Format - Uzun Belgesel, Renkli, Türkçe
Yönetmen / Director - Delal Yatçi
Senarist / Writer - Delal Yatçi
Yapımcı / Producer - Delal Yatçi
Executive Producer - Fatih Tatlıcı
Director of Photography - Ahu Mısırlı
B Kamera ve Drone Operatörü - Onur Kaya
Focus Puller - Alper İnal
Editing - Fatih Tatlıcı, Delal Yatçi
Bir Ege köyünün kalbi olan tarihî okul, Türkiye’deki pek çok köy okulunda olduğu
gibi, taşımalı eğitim sistemine geçilmesiyle beraber 1990’larda kapatılır.
Zamanla metruk hâle gelen bina, bu kaybın sessiz bir tanığına dönüşür. Yıllar
sonra gündeme gelen yıkım kararı, köy sakinlerini ve mezunları yeniden bir araya
getirir, okulun korunması için ortak bir çabanın önünü açar. Böylece yapı
yalnızca ayakta kalmaz, aynı zamanda köye yeniden hizmet edecek kolektif bir
merkeze dönüşme fikri de güç kazanır. Film, bir yandan tahribatın izlerini
taşıyan yapının kendisine odaklanırken, diğer yandan eski mezunların hem geçmiş
deneyimlerine hem de okulu yaşatma mücadelelerine ışık tutar. Okulu bir hafıza
merkezi olarak konumlandıran anlatı, yıkılmaya yüz tutmuş duvarlar arasında
zamanın ve kaybın yoğun hissedildiği bir atmosfer kurar. Bu süreçte bellek,
kayıp, direniş ve umut iç içe geçer. Eski öğrencilerin hatıraları eşliğinde
okul, yalnızca bir eğitim yapısı olarak değil, kuşakları buluşturan ortak bir
hafıza ve yaşam alanı olarak yeniden anlam kazanır.
Founded in 1938 in the remote Karaburun district of İzmir, Saip-Anbarseki
Primary School once served as the heart of its small Aegean village. For decades,
it was not only a place of education but a cornerstone of social life, shaping
generations of children and anchoring the rhythms of village life. But with
sweeping educational reforms in the late 1990s, the school was closed and left
to decay - part of a larger pattern that saw many rural schools shuttered across
Turkey. Since then, children have been transported to schools in distant towns,
severing the everyday ties between education and community.
This documentary explores the multilayered consequences of that closure, not
only as a local event but as a symbol of broader social and political
transformations. As migration to urban areas accelerates, intergenerational
bonds fray, and the rural fabric weakens. The school, now a crumbling ruin,
stands as a ghostly witness to these changes. Its walls bear the marks of time,
erosion, and abandonment - but also memory, resistance, and an enduring
emotional presence.
Shot with an observational and poetic approach, the film gives voice not only to
the people who once inhabited the school but also to the building itself.
Through textured close-ups of its cracked surfaces, echoing corridors, and rain-soaked
ceilings, the camera listens for the silent testimony of a space that refuses to
disappear. The sounds of dripping water, rustling wind, and distant animal calls
merge with archival voices and ambient noise to construct a sonic memoryscape.
This sensory-rich depiction shifts the focus from a purely anthropocentric
perspective to a spatial and material one, suggesting that spaces, too, remember
and mourn.
Central to the film are the former students - now elderly - who return to the
school after decades. Their deeply personal testimonies, filled with warmth,
sorrow, and reflection, reveal how the experience of schooling continues to
shape their lives. These encounters with the decaying building act as emotional
triggers, bringing buried memories to the surface. In their stories, personal
grief intersects with political critique, highlighting the long-term impacts of
rural neglect and centralized policymaking.
27. Altın Safran Belgesel Film Festivali, Ulusal Uzun Belgesel Film Yarışması,
Finalist. 2026
9. İzmir Kadın Yönetmenler Festivali, Ulusal Kamera Göz Belgesel Film
Kategorisi, Finalist. 2026
