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Original Film Title: Bilûra Nişo
Director’s Name: Sedat Kiran
Writer’s Name: Sedat Kiran
Producer: Sedat Kiran
Country of Origin: Turkey
Country of Filming: Turkey
Runtime: 1 hour 5 seconds
Film Description:
The Armenian relocation of 1915 also caused a significant upheaval in the Kurdish geography. During this relocation, the adult males of the Dikran family from Eğilli in Diyarbakır were killed, while women and children were exiled in caravans. Nişan Dikran (known as Master Nişo), a 9-year-old who lost two of his brothers during this exile, managed to break away from the caravan and return to Diyarbakır with his mother. In the same period, Zülfü Yokuş of Ergani (Zilfo, the Vivaldi of the East), whose father served in the Ottoman Army, was also of the same age as Nişo and lost his eyes from crying when his father died in the military. While Nişo gained fame in Diyarbakır with his talent and became a master of crafting wind instruments, Zilfo became known for his skill in playing the kaval.
What brought these two teenagers, one Armenian and the other Kurdish, together in Diyarbakır was the musical instrument kaval. Zilfo moved from Ergani to Diyarbakır city center and became neighbors with Nişo, the kaval master who showed him special attention. The families bonded, and a friendship built on solidarity and support took shape. Nişo, the master, crafted a special kaval for his friend Zilfo, and Zilfo gained reputation in the region by playing his kaval on the Eastern Express trains. Nişo’s kavals and Zilfo’s kaval playing skill brought them both unique fame.
Finally, from the 1950s onwards, Armenians began to feel uneasy in Diyarbakır as well and migrated to the West. Nişo initially resisted this migration, but eventually, he had to leave Diyarbakır and go to Istanbul. After Nişo went to Istanbul, he struggled to obtain the wood materials for making kavals he used in Diyarbakır, and he lost his ability to craft kavals like before. Zilfo also aged and had to sell his kaval, which had different measurements from all the existing kavals, with deeper and wider breath intervals. Nişo passed away in Istanbul, and Zilfo, too, in Diyarbakır, around roughly the same time.
Nişo’s son, İbrahim, and Zilfo’s daughter, Hatice, have led lives that are almost entirely separate from each other. Each of them narrates their own father’s story, while the kaval masters, who developed their art with Nişo’s kavals, continue to perform their awe-inspiring arts.