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Adnan – Am I my brother’s keeper?
Or “Why would anyone care about our new short film entitled Adnan?”
I want to tell you about our new film Adnan and ask for your help.
The genesis of the short film called Adnan was pretty simple. We love Istanbul. We think it’s exotic, historical, and beautiful – and thought a movie would be a great way to highlight the city. Add to the love we have for this city the fact that I had just purchased a new camera that punches WAY above its price point. So, when I realized we were passing through Istanbul with this camera at the end of 2018, I started dreaming.
Mohsen was a new friend we had met a few years earlier, and it is his personal situation that became the initial idea that turned into my fictional story.
Mohsen is from Syria. Because of our past work with Syria and Syria-related projects, I was particularly interested in his story. We had been working with a dear friend, Betsy Brown, who was actively engaged with refugees pouring out of Iraq into Syria. The more we learned and heard from Syrians, we saw what was about to happen. Betsy was desperately trying to sound the alarm before most people had ever heard of ISIS.
Then the war really kicked into gear, and among a number of different things happening, Mohsen and many others left the country. Mohsen ended up in Istanbul.
It’s hard to truthfully characterize aspects of a refugee’s existence in a short story. I think the movie Adnan does that in a way to which most people can relate. The heart of the story is to see Adnan rise above a bad situation and remain generous to others.
Displaced People
To this day, I don’t know that Adnan would call himself a refugee.
The larger, more generic term is displaced people. That works for two distinctly different groups of people who are not living where they were originally and had to leave for some reason. When people are refugees within their own country, they’re actually labeled as IDPs. That’s Internally Displaced People. When you leave your country, then you are a refugee. Either way, you’re not living where you started and external events led to the leaving.
In a larger context, various projects and experiences I’ve had over the years have led me to have an acute sympathy for displaced people. One particularly memorable and impactful experience I had back in 2007 was spending time in an IDP camp outside of Nyala, Sudan. That’s in southern Darfur, and it was just about the same time George Clooney’s film ‘Sand and Sorrow’ was in the public consciousness highlighting the genocide happening there. There were multiple camps, but I think the camp we were in had hundreds of thousands of people in it. That was all war-related. But displaced people happen in natural disasters, too.
Remember when a large percentage of New Orleans residents moved away after Katrina? We were in the middle of response efforts following that hurricane, and we dealt with a number of people who left Louisiana. That would make them IDPs. Many did not ever move back. That often happens.
Simply put, displaced people are not ‘home.’ They are also having to deal with new cultures, along with lots of other challenges. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon that the people who live where the displaced people land are not excited about them being there. Even when displaced people are initially welcomed, that good will often sours over time for a number of reasons, many of which are simply tied to human nature.
So, that generic struggle of displaced people is at the core of the short story I created to film in beautiful Istanbul.
To make this movie, I scripted a simple, minimal-dialog short story and enlist the help of family and friends. Miriam and Morgan (my wife and daughter) were my crew. Our long-time shopkeeper friend, Mustafa, was willing to help with whatever.
To make my fictional story work, I needed a bad guy. When I asked if Mustafa would be willing to act like a jerk in my story, he said ‘no problem!’ Mohsen laughed and agreed it would be no problem.
You see, Mohsen had worked for Mustafa for a while, and that was actually when I met Mohsen initially. My hesitation with this plan was that I think Mustafa is actually a great guy. Even though I’m guessing he’s not a saint, I still felt bad about having him play this part. However, I knew he could do it really well and he was willing. But for the record, we love our friend Mustafa in spite of how you might feel about him after seeing the film!
As this project evolved from an idea into something we actually produced, it became obvious what some of the challenges were. Those problems prompted me to go some new directions and to make some tweaks. All of which led to better things, in my opinion.
In the end, Adnan’s audiences should get a tiny glimpse into a stereotypical situation that displaced people can encounter that of being taken advantage in the new place where they live. In addition to this frustrating story, Adnan offers viewers a chance to experience the streets of Istanbul. And ultimately, the hope is that you will be inspired to remain generous in the face of how hard life and people can be.
Even though this fictional story is specific to a location, languages and people, I believe that this story should ring true to anyone who knows how things go for displaced people. Out of that, we hope that Adnan’s audiences will increase their general care and understanding for displaced peoples. Simultaneously, we want everyone to catch the vision, through Adnan’s example, of how their reaction to being treated poorly is still a decision on their part, for good or for bad.
As you might assume, I’m passionate about this small project. As it has developed way beyond my initial vision, it’s safe to say that Adnan has grown on me. Now I want others to appreciate this short story, too. And if that doesn’t happen, I still hope people will, at least, enjoy navigating the streets of the incomparable Istanbul.
We Need Your Help
I hope you will be motivated to donate some money towards the finishing of this film via the IndieGoGo campaign.
If you would like to ask more specific questions regarding Adnan or the to help finish it, please let me know at
Bottom line, Adnan is a simple and sad story that we’ve turned into a unique short film, located in beautiful Istanbul. Our hope is that Adnan will matter to you and many others before it’s all said and done. If people are interested in private screenings, including for groups, please contact me. For now, we would love to see it screened around the world in film festivals. With your help, that can happen. How many? We’ll see.
Written by J Matt Wallace
Follow ADNAN on JMATTWALLACE.COM
