Written and Directed by Berfi Dicle Öğüt, D.O.P Semih Yıldız, Editing Ove Jensen, Geoffrey Smith, Emrullah Erbay, Producer Berfi Dicle Öğüt, Additional Producer Barbara Orton, Soundtrack Markus Schmidt, Sound Design and mix  Altar Ercan, Oral Voices Aysun Topar, Arda Kavaklıoğlu, Az Francsa, Bahtiyar Engin, Ben Ayers, Brett Chard, Chris Dale, Christopher Harvey, Christopher Romance,  Ed Jenkins, Florian Lacina, Fatih Gökhan Özacun, Ken Miller, Leonard Payne, Mike Davison, Peter Coates, Rıza Karaağaçlı, Suat Guzey.

SYNOPSIS
 

This overlooked story takes place in an unknown region, Mesopotamia, whose name means “between two rivers” during the First World War. As a result of this battle, British and Turkish forces incurred the largest number of causalities of the war, and the Middle East as we know it today was shaped. 137.447 Turkish soldiers fell prisoner to the British army whilst 28.000 British soldiers fell prisoner to the Turks as a result of this battle on the Iraqi front. Turkish prisoners of war were brought to POW camps in Burma via an arduous naval journey beginning at Basra, and British soldiers were marched across the desert to arrive at POW camps in Anatolia from Iraq. Some of the soldiers who fell prisoner were able to return to their homeland; most died as a result of living conditions and contagious diseases, either during the journey to the camps or shortly after arriving there. The film focuses on the tragic stories of W. C. Spackman, an English military doctor working in the Indian Army, and Colonel Suphi Bey, a Turkish officer, whose destinies intersect in Mesopotamia. It begins in the trenches, and continues in the prisoner camp, portraying the cruel nature of war through the perspective of shared suffering which unseen lived experiences outside of the established historical framework. 

​

WHY THE WATERS OF BABYLON

"Some experiences cannot be described and remain frozen in time."I built this documentary on this topic. In Europe we are again in War conflicts from Russian attack to Ukraine. I really do belive that as a filmmakers we should have mision that show anti-war reflections because the World is needing in that case strong storttellers now more than ever. What makes the documentary film “The Waters of Babylon,” different is that the perspective of common suffering, which have never been talked about, and while doing this, not only the captivity but also the soldiers' experiences at the front. Shell shock / war fatigue who dont want to fight any more such as multi-layered war is questioning. I think the same/similar war documentaries are made over and over again. All of this (what I've seen at least) is more militaristic and "nationalist" stuff. The story they tell is similar and repetitive. Of course, people usually want to hear stories of heroism. Or at least there is such an assumption. Of course, war is not just an "adventure" filled with stories of heroism. Here The Waters of Babylon brings together subjects that have never been known until today, 100 years later.

If this film should not support today, these issues will never be known and will be lost in the history. Knowing the stories of those honorable people who fought for their country shows us where we stand in human history and in the history of our own family, which in turn reminds us of who we are. For that reason, it is so much important. I believe in true stories of soldier’s who were there simple but extraordinary, brave and surprising that open our eyes to those around us that change the World that inspire and stay with us forever. Because they don’t want to be forgotten. Also The Republic of Turkey will celebrate its 100th Anniversary in 2023. In this sense, knowing the World War I and its effects with its unknown aspects is also a light for us to better understand today's values.

​

​