The story of Zumran Omur and Celal Kazım Omur caught our attention when we heard about their success at reversing the fortunes of their small, struggling village community. After a tragic car accident in 2000, the village of Boğatepe saw a mass exodus with many chosing to leave the remote community to seek a better life elsewhere.
Faced with the prospect of watching their beloved village slowly turn into a ghost town, the community came together in 2007 to form The Boğatepe Environment and Life Association, with the aim of revitalizing the local economy and halting the exodus of their neighbours.
Since then, Boğatepe has seen a remarkable turnaround in fortunes. Today, Boğatepe is a well known tourist destination, attracting thousands of visitors annually.
We wanted to tell the story of this remarkable community through the eyes of the people who care for it deeply, and highlight the resilience and cast light on the beautiful spirit their success.
Above all, we wanted this to be a human story.
What we saw and experienced while we spent time with the couple was remarkable. After talking to them and observing their work, it quickly became clear that this was not simply story of success. The hard work and dedication of the Boğatepe community in coming together to save their village was actually a story of love and dedication, and we felt that Zumran Omur and Celal Kazım Omur were the perfect encapsulation of the the same enduring spirit that brought Boğatepe to where it is today.
After observing their work and capturing their dedication and love on camera, it clear to us that we needed tell the story from the couple’s point of view. Their love towards each other unified their family and their village. We joined them on their daily tasks, along with the family, to observe their daily lives. Filming them as candidly as possible, we managed to get their natural daily lives on camera. This helped the story carry through the genuine warmth and love they hold for each other and their village. In that manner, we were able to find out what made their story this successful and show the world that love unites and brings success.
We went to Boğatepe hoping to get the real story of this community, and came back with beautiful shots and an inspiring story of love and success. We decided to let the characters tell their own story, so that our audience would be drawn into their world the way we were. Our method of observing and mixing with the family worked. We were able to capture them at their most natural; singing to each other, walking in the fields and working together joyously. What we saw was a lot of love and unity, and we managed to capture this in a story that was very much their own. We were able to tell their story in a way that would serve as an inspiration to people and show them the strength in love and unity, and the wonders it can accomplish.
