It presents dramatic episodes of life on the islands and showcases a rich musical heritage. These islanders make up a unique microcosm of people - artists, fisherman, philosophers, phaeton drivers and housewives – all with unique stories; they have deep bonds with the past and strong ideas about the present and the future.
The story also follows the story of the architecture student Eren Balkan (a trained actress) who has come to the island for her Masters in architecture. In her search for key architectural sites on the islands, she interacts with the islanders. Director, Nedim Hazar, a resident islander and musician, narrates her journey.
In the film, the music underlines the ethnic microcosm of the island and lets the audience experience the feeling hidden in it sensually. The islanders defy the harsh reality that the Princes’ Islands, like all other treasures of Istanbul, are doomed to die with an optimistic song at the end of the film:
“My heart is for only for you and the islands.
There is no one else”
During the filming in 2013, the “Gezi Protests” were at their peak Istanbul. These also revived the “islanders’ identity”. The film documents, for example, a forum of over a thousand islanders on the then uninhabited island of Yassiada. Their plea to leave this island as a nature reserve or museum was unfortunately not heard. On Yassiada, oversized hotels are being built now. The horse carriages, a landmark of the islands, belong meanwhile to the past too.
Nedim Hazar Bora
Caner Küçük
Gülşin Ketenci
Mete Bağcı
Nedim Hazar Film and Music
Geo Schaller, Nedim Hazar und many more
The Islands Foundation
New York Independent Film Festival
D'Avvenir Film Festival, Rome
Nürnberg
German-Turkish
Filmfestival
Musician and Philosopher (1944 - 2015)
Zimbabwean-born Nikiforos Metaxas lived on one of the Prince Islands for the last 15 years of his life. In collaboration with Turkish and Greek musicians he produced numerous albums and hits for the Turkish music market. His latest project is documented in this film: He was in the process of building a music centre from the ruins of the former Greek school on Heybeliada, one of the Prince Islands.