CinéDialoog: Tomato, Pepper, Depression
Aybüke Avcı comes from the Turkish village of Çetirevli, near Adana. The tomatoes, peppers, and other crops grown there survive on medication, much like the diagnosed depression patients who make up half of the village’s population.
As the production of pepper paste—the village’s source of livelihood—goes through various stages of harvesting, sorting, and grinding, the burden of physically heavy work on people’s mental worlds gradually increases.
During a summer coinciding with the pepper harvest, Aybüke retraces the memories of her childhood and makes a confronting but gentle portrait of her uncles Mehmet and Yakup, both grappling with depression.
After the screening Aybüke will join us for a conversation on this intimate documentary.
About the speakerAybüke Avcı is a filmmaker from Turkey. She has worked in film programming and project development at cultural institutions including İBB Kültür AŞ and Akbank Sanat.
Her first feature-length documentary, Tomato, Pepper, Depression (2024), premiered in the National Documentary Competition of the 43rd Istanbul Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention Award. The film was subsequently screened at numerous festivals and received awards including the Johan van der Keuken New Talent Award at the 18th Documentarist Istanbul Documentary Days and the Best Film Released on Digital Platforms Award at the 58th SİYAD Turkish Cinema Awards.
