Loose Threads is the story of Hajar, a free-spirited young Muslim woman at a crossroads in life; she either must face her fears and be her authentic self or be a victim of circumstance, like her mother.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Elif Fatima Gorken

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you! Filmmaking is cathartic for me. Loose Threads is a personal film and parts of the script are from my actual journal entries. I developed a significant chunk of the script around the time when my Turkish Muslim immigrant mother and I both began therapy. We started having more honest conversations and one conversation particularly struck me. Her therapist asked her to close her eyes and find herself. She found a younger version of herself in the corner of a dark room; sad, lonely, and neglected. I realized a lot of the issues we were dealing with were similar, so I became deeply passionate about creating a cinematic exploration of inter-generational healing.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It's an amazing film that tells the story of a Muslim mother and daughter who take steps to break cycles of inter-generational trauma by courageously making different choices and forging a path of healing and re-connection. The film tackles mental health and reproductive rights and Muslim culture. There aren't many films that touch on the unique Turkish Muslim immigrant experience in the U.S. We also don't often see empowering story arcs for middle-aged Middle Eastern women on the topic of mental health.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

On a personal level, the main character, Hajar is a young Muslim woman determined to get an abortion despite knowing her traditional family is severely against it. Letting go of fear to be your authentic self and choose what's best for you is a universal theme for people of all backgrounds.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The character Hajar and parts of the story were inspired by a short story written by my friend Salma Ismaiel. I initially adapted the short story into a short screenplay but I noticed it wasn't going to work as a film without visual elements that could drive the plot. I re-wrote the script multiple times to incorporate cinematic elements, and create a solid, authentic narrative structure. I also wrote many poems inspired by the story.

On production day, we improvised a bit and recorded Hajar's voice reciting one of the poems I wrote from Hajar's POV as an exercise when developing her character. That voiceover ended up being a very central part of the film during post-production.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We received an abundance of love and joy! Many people cited the voiceover scene with Hajar riding her bicycle in joy as their favorite scene and that was awesome because I loved writing and directing that.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Many people shared how incorporating poetry into the film made it very powerful, vulnerable, and unique. This for sure challenged me because I often thought of poetry and film as two separate art forms, but I do intend to weave them together again in future projects.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We Are Moving Stories is an incredible platform committed to empowering emerging filmmakers. I hope that we can achieve having more people to see and support this amazing film created with the deepest intentions of care, community, growth, and healing. We are also proud to be a production led by women of color and a full POC crew and cast.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We are excited to connect with producers, distributors and journalists!

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We would love for this film to inspire people to have conversations about intergenerational healing and generate more compassionate self-inquiry about our choices and practice deeper community care. We hope those who watch are inspired to live their truth even if they are a little afraid to do so.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

In what ways have you broken cycles of trauma in your family? In what ways have you opened pathways of healing?

Would you like to add anything else?

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We are working on an experimental dance documentary exploring Sufi whirling, Muslim femininity, and unlearning patriarchy.

Interview: January 2023

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Loose Threads

Length: 13:26

Director: Elif Fatima Gorken

Producer: Elif Fatima Gorken

Writer: Elif Fatima Gorken

About the writer, director and producer:

ELİF FÂTIMA GÖRKEN is a screenwriter, director, and teaching artist. Her work explores visual storytelling at the intersections of gender, migranthood, intergenerational healing, and Islamic mysticism as decolonial cinema. Elif Fâtıma’s research uncovered histories of women and queer screenwriter pioneers with a focus on Turkish screenwriter, Ayşe Şasa. Elif Fâtıma's short film she wrote and directed, Loose Threads (2021) has been selected for international film festivals such as Toronto International Women's Film Festival and Berlin International Art Film Festival. She was chosen to participate in the Warner Bros Early Career program for filmmaking training. She is a teaching artist in NYC, guiding youth in film and doing script coverage for Athena Film Festival. She holds an MFA in Screenwriting for TV and Film from Stephens College.

Key cast: Jessica Damouni (Hajar), Noor Hamdi (Omar), Nilgun Gorken (Leann), Fareeda Ahmed (Amal)

Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers, sales agents and producers

Facebook: Elif Fâtıma Görken

Twitter: @tawheedrose

Instagram: @embodied.dream

Hashtags used: #muslimwomenfilmmakers #muslimwomenstories #muslimwomen #childofimmigrants #muslimimmigrants #turkishstories #intergenerationaltrauma #intergenerationalhealing #qwoc #woc #poccrewandcast

Website: www.embodiedream.com

Other: Vimeo

Funders: Self-funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Montreal Independent Film Magazine - Currently showing