A black-and-white headshot of a woman with medium-light skin, shoulder-length black hair with a few grey strands, and black eyebrows. She is slightly smiling while holding a camera on her right shoulder.
Bircan is a documentary filmmaker working between Scotland and Turkey. After a period in journalism, she found her true passion in creative documentaries.
In 2019, she directed her first short creative documentary, My Name is Anik, as part of the Bridging the Gap programme at the Scottish Documentary Institute. After premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the film was screened at international festivals and independent cinemas.
Since 2019, Bircan has been working on her debut feature documentary, Your Honour, in collaboration with Bombito Productions, while continuing to make short films. Her work explores themes of belonging, personal and communal resilience and resistance.
In addition to her creative documentaries, Bircan makes social-impact films and collaborates on other non-fiction projects. She is also deeply involved in participatory filmmaking, strongly believing in self-representation and the need for equal access to the medium.
IDA: Please tell us a little about yourself and your profession or passion.
I’m an independent nonfiction filmmaker currently splitting my time between Scotland and Turkey. I was born in Istanbul, Turkey, into a Turkish-Kurdish family with strong ties to activism. Growing up in that vibrant (and loud!) environment, surrounded by strong individuals from both cultures, gave me a unique perspective on the world and a deep sense of justice, though it also brought its share of pain. Filmmaking helped me make sense of the confusing feelings and process the vibrant, loud environment I grew up in, allowing me to find my own voice. It became my way of navigating through life, a journey that has been both challenging and rewarding. I’m passionate about imagining a better world and try to bring this vision into my work, aiming to make my films more positive, empowering, colorful, and humorous. Oh, also cats. I do love cats.
IDA: When did you first start working in the non-fiction field?
I was one of those annoying kids, always with a family camera, zooming in on everyone’s faces and asking them questions. From the moment I got hold of that camera (the mighty mini DV!), it became a way for me to relax and express myself. But it took me a while to get into documentary filmmaking. I studied journalism in Istanbul and gave it a go for a while. During that time, I joined some film collectives in Turkey whose main focus was on addressing injustices.
When I moved to Scotland, my drive for justice blended with personal curiosity and emotion. I first explored creative documentaries through the story of myself and my family. My first short film, My Name is Anik, was developed through the Bridging the Gap program at the Scottish Documentary Institute and was awarded for production in 2019. Since then, I’ve learned about non-fiction filmmaking through hands-on experience. I’ve also started working on my first feature, Your Honour. I’ve realized that I have a very reflexive style in documentaries, or perhaps that’s just what makes me feel at ease. I’m still learning and thoroughly enjoying the endless possibilities of non-fiction filmmaking.
IDA: Some of your work is participatory. How did you begin your participatory filmmaking and has it changed the way you think about and make films?
Since I began exploring non-fiction, I’ve made an effort to watch a lot of films. When I found films that reflected my own experiences and portrayed people like me, I noticed many of these representations were trapped in stereotypes and clichés. Although some of these documentaries were beautifully made, they were created by others. I’m not sure if everyone can be a filmmaker—that’s a big question—but I believe everyone should have the right to make films and represent themselves.
If you have an identity constrained by stereotypes, it’s essential to work on creating space in this field. I started with my own film and decided to extend this opportunity to others. If people were given the chance and resources to tell their own stories, how would they do it? What would they share, and how would they direct the camera? Even though not all my work is participatory, my participatory projects have brought a lot of ethical reflection and perspective to my personal films.
IDA: Your work often focuses on stories of under-represented groups. How do you find your collaborators?
I make films about people and topics that I want to understand better. I usually work with individuals whose stories resonate with me, not because I’m just focused on my own experiences, but because it helps me connect with their stories more naturally. One of the main questions I explore is how people around the world find ways to exist and cope, both personally and as part of a community. It’s important for me to have a personal connection with the subject, as this question matters to me in real life as well. That’s why I often work with people with whom I have built genuine, personal relationships.
IDA: Congratulations on being an IDA Supported Artist for your film Your Honor. Can you share with our members a little about your feature film Your Honor?
Thank you! It's truly an honor to be supported by IDA. Your Honour follows my dear friend Efruz through my perspective as a friend. Efruz is a remarkable trans woman who has dreamed of becoming a human rights lawyer since she was a child. However, Turkey isn’t the easiest place to realize your dreams, especially if you don’t fit societal expectations, and the country has been undergoing a significant conservative shift recently. This change has brought Efruz considerable struggles, but she has found her own way to resist.
It’s a form of collective resistance for Turkey’s queer community known as güllüm. This concept is central to the film. Güllüm means that despite all the hardships and daily challenges, you find your people, and laugh in the face of adversity. Throughout the film, we see the impact of güllüm on both Efruz’s and my own story. The film follows Efruz as she seeks to realise her dream and confront the judges of her life in a country that is changing dangerously, and how both our friendship and our community can be true lifesavers.
IDA: What are you working on right now? Do you have any news you would like to share with our members?
Still working on Your Honour, after five long years of filming, we are starting to see the fruits of our hard work. I am also slowly beginning work on my other film, still in the early stages of development, çök, kapan, tutun [drop, cover, hold on]. This film explores the lives of people in Istanbul who are caught between ongoing political turmoil and the looming threat of a devastating earthquake. It delves into how they/we navigate their/our lives through the metaphor of "drop, cover, hold on," a set of emergency instructions learned and prepared for since childhood. What and who do we hold on to amid this constant political and physical shaking? The film is both a love letter and a reflection on anxiety and grief regarding this beautiful city and its people.