Film Archive

Muezzin

Documentary Films - Competition 2009 / Muezzin / Austria 2009

Since the time of the Prophet Mohammed, faithful Muslims have heeded the muezzin’s call to prayer five times a day. Each year in Turkey the best of these compete, and their powerful expressivity proves that muezzins are a special kind of artist. This Austrian film follows the dramatic progress of the competition and investigates the phenomenon of individuality within Islamic culture.

Synopsis

The sound of the muezzin’s voice calling the faithful to their morning prayers slowly awakens the 11 million inhabitants of Istanbul. Despite the fact that many muezzins have been replaced by CD players and speakers mounted atop minarets, there is still great interest in this profession. Each year, Turkey hosts a prestigious competition for the best muezzin, and the Austrian filmmaker followed its dramatic progress from two perspectives: Habil Öndes, one of the competition judges and a specialist in the call to prayer, offers an analytical approach, while the competition between his two students, Halit Aslan and Isa Aydin, to advance to the prestigious Pan-Turkish finals, introduces an element of tension into the story. Brameshuber’s film investigates the phenomenon of individuality within Islamic culture and seeks an answer to the question of whether a muezzin can be considered as a kind of artist or merely as an instrument of God.

About the film

80 min / Color, HD CAM
World premiere
Director Sebastian Brameshuber / Screenplay Sebastian Brameshuber / Dir. of Photography Govinda von Maele / Editor Sebastian Brameshuber, Gökce Ince / Producer Gabriele Kranzelbinder, Sebastian Brameshuber, David Bohun / Production KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production GmbH / Contact KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production GmbH
www: www.muezzindocumentary.com

About the director

Sebastian Brameshuber (b. 1981, Gmünden, Austria) has been studying at Vienna’s University of Applied Arts since 2003. He began shooting experimental shorts and videos in 2004 as part of Fordbrothers, a group he founded with Tomas Draschan. Brameshuber lives and works in Vienna and Istanbul. Selected filmography: Blood Sample (2004), Preserving Cultural Traditions in a Period of Instability (2004), Everything’s Gone Green (2005), and Keynote (2006).