Benim Çocugum (Turkish Documentary) [My Child]

This documentary has its heart in the right place but gosh! It is so bland and boring to watch. Don't get me wring, like I said, these stories are important to be told, but if you want the attention of your audience, you do have to put in that extra effort. What's the point if no one is even gonna watch it. Istanbul and Turkey will always have a special place in my heart, so a documentary from the country focusing on o parents of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, and the intimate stories they share in front of the camera does sound good.

We meet about 7-8 parents, who recount their growing up years and how and when they found out their kids were gay, lesbian, trans etc. They share their experiences very intimately, recounting every little detail (sometimes hard to talk about). And share their stories. They are personal. And then they talk about how through support groups, they eventually got to know one another. How these groups are helping not just kids but mostly parents of the kids and redefine what it means to be parents, family, and activists in this conservative, homophobic, and trans-phobic society. The second half of the doc focuses on their preparation of the famous gay pride parade.

The documentary's simplicity and no tricks is an asset but also its biggest problem. Just one to one cuts of individuals talking through camera and sharing their stories answering probably what I can consider set of 10 questions gets boring and too much after a while. Imagine you have given 10 questions to 8 people and then you are just going around listening to their answers. But having said that, it is brave of the parents to not just show their unconditional support to their kids but also help other parents, which is very important in the conservative Turkish society. I wish the film also look snippets form the children as well, which would have made it even more real and interesting to watch. (4/10)

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