Amsterdam Koerdisch Film Festival
Rootless Resident follows Yervant Demirci, a blacksmith born in the Derik district of Mardin, as he navigates the complex terrain of Armenian-Turkish-Kurdish identity in Turkey and Armenia. Yervant’s language journey begins with Kurdish, continues with Turkish as he enters school, and now seeks to reconnect with his Armenian roots by learning his mother tongue. The documentary follows Demirci’s efforts to reconnect with his heritage in two countries and three cities, despite the cultural and linguistic barriers that define him as Kurdish-Armenian and Turkish-Armenian. The narrative trajectory of Rootless Resident is shaped by Yervant Demirci’s encounters in Derik, Istanbul, Ayntap, and Yerevan, with unforeseen discoveries, emotional revelations, and nuanced interactions, and includes an intimate, individualized approach to religious and linguistic rights and invisible discrimination from the private sphere.
