THE APPLE

Sêv

SPECIAL MENTION
BTF's 19th Documentary & Short Film Competition

Watch Online

APRIL 4 - 15, 2025

Directed by Mehmet Acaruk

Cast: Nur Sürer, Dilan Düzgüner

Short / 15 min. / 2023 / with English subtitles

Zerya is a refugee woman in her 50s living in Paris. When she was only 22 years old, she had to leave her country because of the chemical gas thrown into the city of Halabja in 1988. She has lived in France for 30 years. Visiting a painting exhibition in Paris, Zerya said, "This is not an apple," from Magritte's Betrayal of Images series. This painting reveals Zerya's past traumas. Zerya establishes both a historical and aesthetic relationship between the "apple with cloves", which expresses love in Kurdish mythology, the smell of apples in the gas used in the massacre, and Magritte's painting. She expresses the relationship of the painting with its own tragedy in a different performance.

Selected Festivals and Awards

• Boston Turkish Festival’s 19th Annual Documentary & Short Film Competition (2024): Special Mention
• Kraljevski Film Festival, Serbia (2023): Special Jury Prize
• Uşak International Film Festival, Türkiye (2023): Best Music
• Istanbul International Spring Film Festival, Türkiye (2023): Best Short Film, Best Director
• Berlin Kurdish Film Festival, Germany (2023): Best Young Director
• Siirt International Short Film Festival, Türkiye (2023): Lineer Group Special Prize
• Acoolade Film Festival, USA (2023): Special Mention
• İzmir International Film Festival, Türkiye (2023): Special Selection
• Kıssadan Hisse Film Festival, Istanbul, Türkiye (2023): Special Selection

Director MEHMET ACARUK

Mehmet Acaruk has been a professional photographer for nearly a decade. He spent many years working at Iz Magazine under the guidance of Ara Güler, a renowned photographer in Türkiye and internationally. Acaruk also played key roles in the Fotoğrafevi, the Turkish representative of Magnum Photos, a renowned photography cooperative. Inspired by the storytelling power of photography, Acaruk transitioned to filmmaking. His sociological perspective is evident in all his works. Believing in the importance of aesthetic integrity in all artistic and social endeavors, Acaruk draws motivation for his filmmaking from this belief. “The Apple” is his first short film.