As a Greek tombstone of unknown origin is discovered underneath the floorboards in an old village house in Turkey, an almost forgotten story from the country’s creation unravels; the forced population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The engraved Cyrillic letters tell of a woman, Chrysoula Rodaki, who died in 1887. And so, the search for her escendants begins: It leads director Kerem Soyyilmaz to local archives, where his own family’s role in history is laid bare.
Denmark, Turkey, 2023, 56 min., English, Turkish with Bulgarian and English subtitles
Director: Kerem Soyyilmaz
Scriptwriters: Kerem Soyyilmaz, Maj Susanne Junker
DOP: Andreas Ascanius Lundmark
Music: Andreas Sarantidis, Karayagini, Kerem Soyyilmaz
Production: Totem Films
Director’s Biography
Kerem Soyyilmaz was born 1984 and raised in Besiktas, Istanbul. With a background in commercial films, Searching for Rodakis is his first documentary feature. Searching for Rodakis won the best film award on the 30th Adana Altın Koza Film Festival, and honourable mention in 11th Aegean Docs International documentary film festival. He is currently based in Copenhagen, working on film and cross-cultural projects between Denmark and Turkey.