On April 1st, 2020, the ancient town of Hasankeyf, which stood for 12,000 years, was submerged due to the Ilısu Dam project, despite local and international resistance. The flooding erased a significant portion of the city's cultural heritage, including thousands of multi-story caves that served as homes, now filled with concrete and lost underwater. The undisturbed archaeology of Hasankeyf, buried beneath the water, will no longer be accessible to future generations.
The three-channel video Breath documents the devastation caused by the dam’s construction, offering a subjective portrayal of the region's destruction. It highlights the resilience of the local population, determined to remain despite the adversity. This project underscores not only environmental loss but also the cultural displacement and geopolitical conflicts stemming from water disputes in Upper Mesopotamia. The materials used evoke the artist’s childhood, linking the personal to the region’s history and its rapid transformation.

Director of Photography: Veysel Çelik, Giovanni Giaretta, Özgür Demirci
Sound Design: Mert Gençer
Actor: Ercan Tarhan
Editing: Taha Şimşek
Production Assistant: Metin Türel
Model Production: İstanbul Maket
Special Thanks to: Ali İbrahim Öcal, Atakan Avcı, Bawer Bozarslan, Leyla Keskin, Barış Eviz, Mustafa Yekta Çelik, Zarza Su Kalle (Öğüt), Suzan Kalle, Enver Erdem, Mehmet Bilbil, Ömer Akbel, Abdülkadir Can, Hatice Öğüt, Cüneyt Durukan, İpek M. Sur, Halit Siyar, Marc Farrant, Hasan Mete, Musa Öner, Uğur Orhan, Murat Kartal, Sarp Özer, Görkem İmrek, Doğa Yırık, and Remzi Sever.