Q&A: A Deeper Look into a Dream with Deniz Akyurek’s short film, 'My Child'

 

☆ BY Whitney Zeimis ☆

 
 

REMINISCENT OF FALLING DOWN A RABBIT HOLE BACK INTO THE WONDERLAND-LIKE REALM OF CHILDHOOD - Deniz Akyurek’s short film, My Child, is perfect to get lost in. A poetic visual and auditory ode to an idyllic childhood some have lived and lost, Akyurek’s piece is beautiful in its warm melancholy and bright remembrance. The blend of the strung-together shots of moments in time with the reading of Akyurek’s own poem creates an interesting narrative arc that invites multiple re-watches to ensure you are catching every detail, both in sight and sound. 

Read below to hear more about My Child from Deniz Akyurek himself, what it was like to create a dream-state for a film, and the importance of reflecting back on our childhood.

LUNA: I had such a great experience watching your short film and was enamoured by your style from the get-go. I felt like I was caught in someone else’s dream; was a dream-state a tone you were aiming to set with this piece?

DENIZ: A dream-state was definitely something I was aiming for. Especially the feeling of a fleeting memory, which slowly fades away. I tried to use the fade in this way as a theme, with the opening sequence of fades and the way the ghost-like character slowly fades away. It was important to me to capture the feeling of a memory which is simultaneously nostalgic and haunting.

LUNA: Do you have a favorite shot or sequence from My Child? I was struck by the talking head for sure; I loved it!

DENIZ: I’m not sure if I have a specific favorite, but I am particularly proud of the sequence at the end with the balloon which drifts away. I think it works well with the poem and is hopefully deeper than just looking pretty.

LUNA: I loved the narration over all the images and sequences through the film. How tied together was the creative process for your imagery and your writing? In other words, did specific parts of your imagery inspire your writing or was it a more fluid process?

DENIZ: I think it was a bit of both. It was important in my process to make sure the mood of the visuals fit with the poem (which I wrote before shooting), and added to the overall feeling of the film, rather than trying to attach specific images for each section of the poem. Though there are bits in which I did do that: for example, the first shot of me standing on the edge of a playground, which plays under the line, “[W]hat's happened to my play...”

LUNA: Going back to the idea of it being so dream-like, it addresses the complexity of leaving childhood and how upon reflection, it can feel like one long hazy dream. What was it like in My Child to walk the line between the melancholy of losing the innocence of childhood and the beauty of looking back upon the lost time fondly? 

DENIZ: It was challenging to walk that line and find the right harmony of emotions. Some of my favorite films are ones which infuse the perfect balance between happy and sad emotions, where you don’t know whether to burst into tears or grin from ear to ear. Through my writing, I aimed to create a love letter to childhood. But through my imagery, I wanted to convey something dark and grim which would contrast with the vibrance of the piece and connect back to that idea of the loss of innocence. At least, that was my strategy to walk that line.

LUNA: What is one childhood memory you think of often? Or maybe one that just stands out above the rest for any reason?

DENIZ: One memory which has always stuck with me is a chaotic day in which my friends and I explored a field in my backyard. We would consistently go into this guy’s field in the woods in my backyard, and it was just littered in old stolen cars and weird moldy shacks. And one day, the guy whose field it was chased us down with his dog, and we all ran into the next town over because we were all terrified. I don’t know exactly why I remember that so vividly, but I think it has something to do with the fact that it felt like an escape, sort of like a fantasy-quest in some far away land. 

LUNA: Lastly, do you have a specific takeaway you want your audience to walk away with after watching your films?

DENIZ: Hopefully it makes you think back fondly on your childhood, and reminds you of the purity of it, which I find is always slipping away as we get older and become more influenced by the world around us.

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