WINNER: 2021 AUDIENCE AWARD – BEST FEATURE
A GIFT FROM GOD
Nefise Özkal Lorentzen + Jørgen Lorentzen
2019, Norway + Turkey, 61 mins.
Filmmaker Jørgen Lorentzen introduces the 2019 film he co-directed with Nefise Özkal Lorentzen, A Gift From God for its SDFF 2021 screening. A Gift From Godinvestigates the 2016 failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has been described as the bloodiest in Turkey’s history. Through the film, Lorentzen attempts to shed light on this event, and its staggering circumstances, which resonate with ongoing political conflicts in the present day.
This documentary investigates the truth behind the bloodiest coup attempt in Turkey’s political history. After a coup attempt failed in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed an unprecedented wave of repression against his opponents. Tens of thousands of teachers, judges, journalists, health workers and military personnel were fired and thousands were sentenced to long-term or life imprisonment. This documentary reveals never-before-seen documents and film footage. Through the voices of the people who witnessed it, the film sheds a light on what really happened that night.