{"id":14041,"date":"2026-02-15T15:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T15:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/14041\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T15:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T15:07:07","slug":"emin-alper-on-berlin-drama-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/14041\/","title":{"rendered":"Emin Alper on Berlin Drama ‘Salvation’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTurkish writer\/director Emin Alper<\/a> \u2013 who was at the Berlinale in 2019 with \u201cA Tale of Three Sisters,\u201d followed by his incendiary 2022 Cannes entry \u201cBurning Days\u201d\u00a0\u2013 is back in Berlin with timely drama \u201cSalvation<\/a>\u201d that delves, he says, into the dynamics of contemporary \u201cmass murders, massacres, genocides, and wars.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tSet in a remote Turkish mountain village, \u201cSalvation\u201d revolves on a conflict sparked by land dispute. It is inspired by a true 2009 event in which 12 members of a family in a village in the Kurdish region of T\u00fcrkiye raided a wedding and killed 44 people, including women and children.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlper speaks to Variety about the film\u2019s broader significance in today\u2019s war-torn world.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs I understand it, \u201cSalvation\u201d stems from a true story involving a land dispute between different families that led to a massacre. Is that right?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. It it took place almost 15 years ago in the Kurdish region of T\u00fcrkiye. It was a shocking event for me, just like for many other people, of course. From that event onwards, I started asking myself: \u201cHow can a group of people collectively act in such a way? How can they commit such a heinous crime?\u201d I understood that there was a leader prompting the perpetrators. So I wondered: \u201cHow can a leader convince the others?\u201d There were 12 murders. \u201cHow did he convince the others to kill all those people?\u201d I read the actual news, interviews, etc. But could not get a satisfactory picture from all this information. So I found myself writing a story that has references to the modern history of humanity which involves these kinds of mass murders, massacres, genocides, and wars. I have a PhD in history, so it was easy for me to find a connection between this story and the broader picture.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnfortunately massacres seems to have become quite timely. Are there any specific current references that come to mind?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, on the one hand there is the Palestinian issue and the accusation \u2013 which I believe to be correct \u2013 that Israel has committed genocide. On the other hand, there is the new Trump era. So everyone is asking this question. \u201cThese types of leaders [Netanyahu, Trump, Putin] towards where are they dragging the world? This issue suddenly became more timely than when I was writing the screenplay four years ago.<\/p>\n

\n\tMore specifically, there is a feud between two brothers and a specific religious context. Talk to me about those dynamics<\/p>\n

\n\tIt comes from the real story. I mean, in the real story there\u2019s a kind of religious context. But more importantly, I believe that these kind of people, these kind of leaders, who direct their people towards those kinds of crimes, they generally believe they have a mission. It can be religious or secular. But they have a mission; they have a target. And these targets are always sacred targets. It can be the religious salvation of a people. It can be the salvation of a nation, and the nation state. Or it can even be the salvation of people in socialist terms. You know, socialist leaders committed these types of crimes and legitimized them as being [for] the salvation of the people, for the equality of the people. So this sacredness is very important for me. The leader and the collectivity believe they have a kind of mission, a sacred mission. I used the religious element specifically to underline this reality.<\/p>\n

\n\tAesthetically, this film seems a departure for you. There are shades of horror genre. Do you agree that you\u2019ve made a tonal shift towards the supernatural?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, the dreams and the supernatural elements for me function on both the aesthetic level and the storytelling level. All the mystical religious experiences refer to dreams, especially in Turkey where there is this Sufi tradition. They got religious messages, through their dreams. They see the future
and prove their mystical powers in their dreams. But of course, it has a kind of collective aspect. Because not only does the leader claim leadership through dreams. It spreads to the whole collectivity that experiences fears and paranoias so it\u2019s quite important to understand how dreams shape their worldview.<\/p>\n

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