sakaenyc's blog

How would you feel if the only home you knew had its very existence threatened? “Life in Limbo” is a documentary short portraying life in the town of Hasankeyf in Southeastern Turkey. This dramatic cliffside town near the borders of Iraq and Syria, was once a part of many empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Persian, and Ottoman. Considered an archaeological treasure, it has been inhabited since the 9th Century B.C. and is considered the finest example of a medieval city in the region. An estimated 8000 caves in the area were once homes to the townspeople. While most of the residents moved to more modern housing in the 70’s, some residents continue to live as their forefathers did. Hasankeyf has endured upheavals and changes through the centuries but it now faces a seemingly insurmountable threat to its survival; a proposed dam on the Tigris River that will submerge the town. Through a combination of verite scenes, lyrical landscape images and interviews, Hasankeyf will be revealed as a town of long traditions , an archaeological treasure and finally, a community that is fated to be destroyed.