Ben Kurguyum, I Am Fiction
3-Channel HD video (color, stereo) 2021 - 12’ 46’’

Ünver Oral worked at the Sümerbank Leather and Shoe Factory in Beykoz before becoming a master of shadow puppetry.

His passion for cinema and theatre grew during his time at the factory, where he wrote radio plays on his office typewriter and crafted characters using leftover leather scraps. He also organized film screenings for his colleagues, collecting reels from foreign consulates to share his fascination with moving images.

After leaving the factory, Oral dedicated himself to reimagining the traditional shadow play of Karagöz and Hacivat. He introduced plastic figures for more fluid movement, added new characters, and created original stories for the screen. Together with his wife Meserret, who accompanied performances with songs and tambourine, they brought their shows to audiences across Turkey and abroad.

Though no longer performing, Oral’s deep passion for making lives on. We met Ünver and Meserret Oral during an oral history project with factory workers, and what stayed with us was not their solitude—but their enduring creativity.

“I Am Fiction” offers a brief glimpse into the delicate world Ünver Oral created on his imaginative screen.