FILMMAKER’S STATEMENT
I first visited the town of Hasankeyf in November 2005. I was immediately struck by the dramatic beauty of this town and the warm hospitality of the town’s residents. In spite of the obvious poverty in the town, people were quick with invitations for tea and food - although they were all fasting for Ramadan. Being in remote Southeastern Turkey, Hasankeyf is not on a typical tourist route although it is rich in cultural history. This town of rocks has been part of many empires: the Romans, the Persians, the Byzantines, and the Ottomans, to name a few. Tourism had been on the increase since 2000, when the PKK, the Kurdish separatist group, declared a ceasefire with the Turkish military. I wondered how the town would change in the future: would it become a popular destination with big hotels marring its skyline? Would Burger King and Pizza Hut come to feed the tourists? Would the residents change and look at the tour groups with contempt as they came in hoards to trample on their beloved town? It was then that people told me that the Ilisu dam would be built and the town would go underwater. I was stunned.

In 2006, I set out to make to make a portrait of the town, to capture the life of the residents by the magnificent cliffs on the Tigris River. I also wanted to document the historical relics that dotted the landscape. I was unsure if people would voice their feelings about the dam on camera but some did. Hasankeyf has been under threat of the dam since 1954. Unemployment is high and development in the town is non-existent. Their lives are in limbo. At the same time, people have a deep connection to the land and community. They swim, fish, and do their laundry in the river, feed their animals off the land, and grow fruit in their gardens. Meanwhile, archaeological teams hurry to uncover the cultural richness underneath the land before the flood. The Turkish government knows that the Southeast is impoverished and the Ilisu dam is part of a larger development project called GAP (the Southeastern Anatolia Project).

With plans to move the historical relics to a new cultural park and build a new town for residents, they aim to bring a new life to the people. Meanwhile the mayor responds, “Although not extraordinary, we have a way of life here. We manage by raising livestock and farming. We will be like birds whose nests have been destroyed.” In August 2007, funding contracts for the Ilisu Dam were finally signed and construction started soon after. When I visited at the time, one resident said sadly, “The dam is coming.” “Life in Limbo” preserves the spirit of this mystical place and its people as it is threatened with change.