C O M M U N I T Y F I L M P R O J E C T

S Y N O P S I S

GÜZEL DERMAN (Beautiful Cure) is a short documentary about the refugee Women’s Only Handcraft Group at the Centre for Turkish & Kurdish Wellbeing, DERMAN. The film weaves together each woman’s memory of moving to England with their knitwork.

Self-established, for over 15 years this weekly intimate circle has shaped and continues to maintain a feminine place of peace and of respite from everyday cultural and patriarchal pressures. This film shows how knitting sparks open conversation and empowers each woman to break their wider community’s silence on mental health. They share their story to show us how working together improves not only individual self-confidence, but the group’s collective well-being. Afterall, ‘derman’ in both Kurdish and Turkish means strength, solution and cure.

P R O C E S S

As part of SOAS’ ‘London in Motion Workshop’ with London International Documentary Festival (2019), we approached DERMAN on the possibility of creating a film with and for them. They suggested engaging their Women’s Only Handcraft Group, and over a period of 6 months, working under the guidance and consultation of both the women and staff at DERMAN, we produced ‘Güzel Derman’. Throughout, we were conscious of traditional power dynamics between filmmakers and ‘participants’ and approached this by:

Embracing the Positive, focusing on the feeling of 'peace', the women told their stories through the lens of their shared, everyday healing strategy; the creative act of knitting.

Respecting language. The Handcraft Group were in control; speaking Turkish throughout filming, uninterrupted by translators or film crew, able to steer the recorded conversation.

We respected the women’s comfort zones, ensuring consent and an all woman production throughout. We did not avoid stories from women who wanted to share whilst remaining anonymous. Instead, we worked creatively to uphold their boundaries (opposed to around or without them) which dictated how we filmed, hence the style of focusing on each woman’s hands, an idea continued from their previous group project entitled ‘Reunion Stories’ (a story book about family reunification of mental health service users attending the handcraft group funded by Big Lottery Fund-Awards for All programme).

Filmmaking as a form of sharing. We worked in alignment the ethical framework for counselling (BACP) and under DERMAN’s consultation. We as filmmakers also opened up and were vulnerable with the women regarding our own mental health and personal experiences. The creative process of filmmaking mirrored the women’s use of knitting as a coping strategy for mental well-being. Filmmaking somehow too became a creative coping mechanism for grieving and mourning.

’Güzel Derman’ hopes to inspire and empower viewers with an alternative narrative that shows how women in everyday settings can come together to build creative spaces of peace, to work collectively on a ‘beautiful cure’.

The Women of DERMAN’s Handcraft Group:

Elif Demir, Saliha Gok, Aysel Görür,
Fidan Nergis, Neriman Salih,
and thanks to all the other participants
who have chosen to remain anonymous

Interpreters:

Yeter Gozubuyuk
Mental Health Recovery
and Support Worker, DERMAN

Ezgi Erik
Volunteer Assistant, DERMA

Executive Producer:
Nursel Tas
Chief Executive Officer, DERMAN

Devised, Directed & Produced by:

Nataša Cordeaux
Cheyenne Ritfeld
Ricarda Theobald

Consultants:

Nursel Tas
Chief Executive Officer, DERMAN

Ufuk Genç
Mental Health Team Manager, DERMAN

Translators:
Ozlem Alpsen
Anna Passlick

Colourist:
Catherine Bridgman