Talk Real meets Oliver Ressler

Using Oliver’s words, “Emergency Turned Upside-Down” confronts the cynical and inhuman discourse that calls refugees presence in Europe “emergency” when that word should be applied to the war, terror and economic strangulation that forced people to move. This latest migration wave is the emigrants’ rational response to the wars waged in Asia (“Middle East” and beyond) and Africa by Western powers willing to prop up or shoot down local proxies – kill “Arab Springs” or command them – as opportunist interest dictates.

In ‘There are no Syrian Refugees in Turkey’, the film channels voices that not only go unheard but are quite unheard-of in the Western “refugee debate” – because if Europe is the center of the world, speakers like these couldn’t possibly exist. They are Syrian refugees who preferred not to seek a way into the EU, choosing to continue their lives in Istanbul instead. The speakers are not seen in the film; their anonymity is maintained as a precaution against repression and unwanted consequences of all kinds. The interviews are combined with images made from long single shots taken in Istanbul.

In the context of the festival, we spoke with Oliver Ressler about his work as artist with migration, borders and the concept of nations.