Story

It is 1915 in an Armenian village in Anatolia. Bedo and Maryam, two siblings, with a knack for causing trouble live in a wealthy and happy household.

One day the children save the life of a wounded blue bird and name him 'Bachig' and take care of him in their secret dovecote.

The children’s happy home life is broken when the man of the house, their grandfather, is taken away by the soldiers.

Forbidden to go outside by their mother, the children run away one morning to check up on their bird.

When they return, they find the house empty, just like the village which has turned into a ghost town.

The children embark on a journey to search for their mother, along with their bird Bachig.

 

Director's View

Anatolia is a land rich in untold stories and ‘Lost Birds’ is one of these stories, a story from a time gone by.

‘Lost Birds’ is about two siblings and a bird in a cage, their journey to find their mother and their struggle to stay together.

The search for the mother is also the search for their lost childhood, the search for their family, their village, and for the happy days which are all but a distant memory. When we look at the bigger picture we can see that this search is also for the rich cultural heritage of Anatolia.

Our biggest aim in making ‘Lost Birds’ was to tell the human side of the story.

We took a very minimal story from such a big historical event and told the story in an epic and grand style.

After listening to thousands of stories and reading books written by Armenian authors who tell us about their memories, we realized that people tend to talk about their best memories, even though they have seen harder times.

When historians and politicians discuss the events of 1915 people tend to get very angry and they move away from the real human stories. This opens a gap between people that keeps on growing.

We believe that ‘Lost Birds’ will help people to share and discuss their own stories after they watch the film and build a bridge between people who once lived on this land in harmony.

It is only with an open heart and without prejudice that we can have a better understanding of the events that took place.

This film can not change the fact that this tragedy took place but it can help us to better understand each other and to look at the future with hope.

Aren Perdeci & Ela Alyamaç