“Hüzün" is a Turkish word describing a collective emotion. Although the word has a similar meaning with melancholia, many novelists and translators claim it to be untranslatable. Some Turkish literary figures differentiate “hüzün” from melancholia with the emotion’s collective characteristics. The word coming from Arabic roots “huzn” is sometimes viewed similar to the Portuguese “saudade”.

“Hüzün** is a tranny name” is shot in collaboration with a Turkish trans-activist and sex-worker Gani_meth. The video tackles the mourning and melancholia in the queer community of Turkey while aiming to subvert the meaning of ‘hüzün’ in a direction that reflects on the violence that minorities face every day. The video is shot in parallel to an archival work around ‘hüzün’ and its political implications in today’s Turkish politics.

The video is planned to be accompanied with an intimate open discussion that the local queer community share their personal experiences of resistance.

*The video is 15mins in length.