DO YOU THINK GOD LOVES IMMIGRANT KIDS, MOM?

DO YOU THINK GOD LOVES IMMIGRANT KIDS, MOM? (TANRI GÖÇMEN ÇOCUKLARI SEVER Mİ ANN E?), 2019
Turkey | DCP, Color, 96’ | Armenian
Director: Rena Lusin Bitmez

In this first feature-length documentary, Rena Lusin Bitmez focuses on the lives of families who have migrated from Armenia to Turkey out of economic necessity. As told through the eyes of four migrant children, the main concern for these families is to ensure that the children’s education is not disrupted despite all the difficult circumstances. Every day, the children attend the school located in the basement of their church, accompanied by mothers who do the teaching. Younger children stay at home with neighbors or grandparents. The film conveys in a sincere and touching manner the everyday lives of the grownups around them who are all tightly connected to each other, their longing for their homeland, and their struggle to make a living.