HEARTH

How do spaces, individuals, and time itself become sacred?

The documentary “Ocak” tells the story of the animist, pantheist, and non-Islamic elements of Alevism, in Sinemilli “the Kurdish Alevi Community”s point of view who lives in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş.

The documentary traces the sacred places, people, and narratives of the Alevis of Sinemilli, that still exist. We are trying to understand the creation of the sacred belief, its function, and transmission between generations within the context of oral expression’s nature.

While our documentary deals with Alevism, which is generally tried to be understood from a political and non-curious aspect in its individual, traditional, and oral form. It also covers important events in the region’s history, such as the Maraş Massacre, September 12, Immigration to Europe, Urbanization, and finally, the February 6 Earthquake,