The Dry Period
Logline
Alime and Refik, living in a nearly abandoned village, suffers from inability of having a child and satisfy their longing with their cows. Every time a cow becomes pregnant it causes a dramatical change in their pace of life.
Synopsis
Alime and Refik, married for eight years, living in an almost abandoned village, because of migration.Their greatest desire in life is to have a child. However, this longing remains unfulfilled, leading themto devote themselves to their cows. They name the cows with the child names they had dreamed of andtake care of them as if they are their own children. They are the youngest couple in the village, andthey have been subjected to the pressure about not having a child for years by the elders. Since theycan’t respond to the expectations, their gender roles also questioned in that conservative society. Forprotecting her husband Alime accepts to be the flawed one in the eyes of elders and carries thatburden. This situation pushed them to a more isolated life with their cows. The dry period is a periodthat begins two months before pregnant cows give birth.
During this period milking is stopped. Evoking the idea of infertility, it is also a time when the pace of life for our main characters intensifiesand dramatically changes. Alime waking up every night to check on her cow. Refik nearly spends allhis time within the barn. Even Alime sometimes shows signs of pseudocyesis. When birth approaches,they take the cow to a dark room. Refik digs a hole at one side of the room for observation. A longwaiting start, hours or even maybe days. One side of the wall there is the cow having labor pain andthe other side is Alime and Refik discussing their accumulated anger, resentments, dreams, andexpectations. After the birth, everything seems to turn back normal. They start taking care of thenewborn just like a kid they dreamed. This is the cycle of their lives.
Director: Nihal ATASOY
Producer: Emre YALGIN
Co-Producer: Selin ÜNER
Genre: Docu-Drama
Runtime: 80 mins.
Country of Origin: Turkey
Language: Turkish
Production Company: Tunnel Pictures
This film was supported by the Directorate General of Cinema of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.