Purple Violets: A Women's Football Team's Story in Van's Forgotten Neighborhood
August 2023 - June 2024
VAN
Purple Violets is a fairy-tale documentary film about a football team founded in Van by girls aged between 10 and 14 that opened new doors for them, who faced many inequal opportunities in their lives. It tells the story of women forming a team and gaining significant success in Turkey in a geography where it is even difficult for men to be interested in football.
The team made a rapid start to its success chart by winning the Van provincial championship in 2014. Then, in 2015, Eastern Anatolia Group 3rd place, 2015 Van province championship, 2016 Black Sea Group 2nd place, 2016 Van province championship, 2017 Southeastern Group 1st place, 2017 Turkey Semi-Finals Regional 1st place, 2017 Turkey Championship in Aydın Kuşadası. They achieved significant success such as 2nd place in Turkey, 2018 Van provincial championship, 2018 Regional 1st place and 2018 Turkey Semi-Finals Group 2nd place. The team achieved these results without conceding a goal or drawing with rival teams. The successes they have achieved in recent years are countless. Finally, in 2023, two girls' football players were selected for the National Team.
Ömer Ferhat Özmen
Ömer Ferhat Özmen started studying at Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Film Design in 2014. In 2015, he shot the short film "Beyoğlu Cinema" with the contributions of TÜRSAK Foundation. This film was screened at more than 50 national and international film festivals. In 2018, he realized the short film project 'The Worn Beak of the Crow', supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and this film received the 'special jury award' at the International Duhok Film Festival.
The screenplay project called 'Mekke Hotel', which is the first feature film project he wrote in 2021, was deemed worthy of 'Scenario and Dialogue Writing' support by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. At the end of the same year, he gave cinema education to the students of Istanbul University Cinema Club by organizing a short film workshop.
In 2023, he shot the short film 'Eksi Bir' with the contributions of the European Union Sivil Düşün, the Ministry of Culture and Ay Yapım. This film was among the 64 films selected among 9,500 films that applied to the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, one of the most important short film festivals in the world, held in Clermont-Ferrand, France. 'Eksi Bir', written and directed by Özmen, won the 'Best Short Film' award at the 43rd Istanbul Film Festival.
This page is published on 7 December 2023.
