Anqa

How can cinema produce an ethical depiction of trauma? Helin Çelik’s experimental documentary ANQA provides a tentative answer. The film observes and interviews three Jordanian women, all of whom have experienced violence and abuse. One woman copes with her past by listening to a soap opera whose drama mirrors her own biography. Another professes to love her children, but insists that they would be better of if she killed them. A third woman’s struggles are palpable but less easily defined. Çelik adopts a patient, elliptical approach, in part to disguise the identities of her subjects. But her method also suggests that trauma is ordinary, that it lingers among the textures of daily life. ANQA films its interviewees in close-ups that highlight the surface of their skin and often employs rack focus or of-kilter framing to show the details of their domestic spaces. The film examines the surfaces of shag carpet, the intricate patterns of wallpaper and the light filtering through curtains. In this way, Çelik shows that although these women’s worlds have become incredibly small, with close attention revealing great complexity. (Michael Sicinski)

In the presence of Helin Çelik.

Helin Çelik: WHAT THE WIND TOOK AWAY (2017), FOR A MOMENT THERE (2018, K)