"Conversations with My Self"
2021-2022
Location
Istanbul and Reyhanli, Turkey
In 2021, I set off to Istanbul, Turkey for a year on a Fulbright Independent Research Fellowship with an animation focus. I learned the traditional Turkish craft of karagöz puppetry from experienced puppetry artists at the Istanbul Karagöz Puppetry Foundation, and then mentored the students at Karam House, an innovation hub for refugee youth, in the making of their own characters designs, puppets, written monologues, and stop-motion animations of those narratives with karagöz puppets. My students, mentored by me and my co-mentor Sima Alkanawati, explored their identities, interrogating the question, "If different sides of your self could have a conversation, what would they want to say? Together, we co-created an animated film, platforming their voices and stories, and offering these refugee youth belonging in a traditional craft of their home country, karagöz puppetry. I also held a karagöz exhibition at Karam House to share our work with the larger community.
My co-mentor Sima Alkanawati and I mentored students as they explored their identities, interrogating the question, "If different sides of your self could have a conversation, what would they want to say?" In collaboration with the youth, I co-created an animated film, platforming their voices, stories, and animations, offering these refugee youth belonging in a traditional craft of their new home country. We visited the workshop of expert karagöz crafstman Cengiz Ozek, and also held a karagöz exhibition at Karam House to share our work with the larger community.
For the intro and conclusion, I created character designs or used student character designs for the puppets representing student identities, cut the puppets from traditional leather, hand painted them, and animated them frame by frame with stop motion animation.
Please access the film below. Request the password from skariat@risd.edu
"Conversations with My Self" has been screened at Karam House, New York Istanbul Short Film Festival, L.A. Documentary Film Festival, International Migration and Environment Film Festival, Home is Distant Shores Festival, and Universal Kids Film Festival, and won "Best Human Interest Short" at the L.A. Documentary Film Festival.
A film by Sabina Shanti Kariat, Sima Alkanawati, Sofia, Sidra, Rumeysa, Sami, Salam, Nuray, Zineb
Music by Joe George Shadid
Special Thanks to Vicky Samia, Dina Chehab, Muhammad Bekri, Aziz Murat Aslan, Cengiz Ozek