Haytarma

Haytarma (2013)

Хайтарма

The story of one of the people

The film tells about the tragic date in the history of the Crimean Tatar people — May 18, 1944 — Stalin’s deportation of the Crimean Tatars. The plot of the film — a pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Amet-khan Sultan. In May, 1944, a year after the liberation of Sevastopol, Amet-khan goes on vacation to his native town Alupka. On May 18 his eyes witness the beginning of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

Date of release
2013-05-18
TMDB
7.6 / 10 (20)
Runtime
1h 30m
Genres
Drama, History, War
Director
Akhtem Seitablaiev

Casting

Interesting facts

Haytarma is a 2013 Ukrainian period drama film. It portrays Crimean Tatar flying ace and Hero of the Soviet Union Amet-khan Sultan against the background of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars. Haytarma means "return", but is also the name of the most popular Crimean Tatar national dance.

Production and release

In 2004, Akhtem Seitablaev—an Honored Artist of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea born into a family of deported Crimean Tatars in Uzbekistan—conceived the idea of making a film about Amet-Khan Sultan: "He means a great deal to a Crimean Tatar. And, of course, as an actor, I wanted to play this hero. It is like a Scotsman playing William Wallace".

Initially, the filmmakers hoped to secure funding in Turkey; however, Turkish representatives declined after reviewing the script. In 2012, Russian businessman Lenur İslâm— owner of Ukrainian television station ATR Channel and the Queen Group—stepped in to assist the creative team.

Production of the film began in October 2012 in Crimea. The initial budget for the film was US$2.5 million. İslâm provided the extras, weaponry, trains, vehicles, and aircraft of the era, investing approximately $1.5 million. Large-scale wartime sets were constructed in Bakhchysarai. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) and technical equipment for the shoot proved to be the most expensive elements.

During the filming of a scene in which the protagonist was to propose to his beloved while on horseback, the animal threw Akhtem Seitablaev; he sustained a severe collarbone injury—his eleventh injury on a film set. This incident forced a significant reduction in the romantic storyline between Amet-Khan and Feride.

Haytarma was the first feature film to depict the history of the Crimean Tatar people. The film is dedicated to "the memory of grandfathers and great-grandfathers, fathers and mothers—all those without whom there would be no us, no children of ours, no memory, and no culture." Haytarma is also the first feature-length film produced by the production studio of ATR, the first Crimean Tatar TV channel.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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