“Although the stories were very harsh and harrowing, I was captivated by the strength of the women”: Chloë Fairweather on making Dying to Divorce

Dying to Divorce is the debut feature-length documentary from Chloë Fairweather that delves into the harrowing yet hope-filled human story behind the recent rise in femicide and gender-based violence in Turkey. Following lawyer and activist Ipek Bozkurt, the film introduces the audience to a number of her clients, the heinous violent crimes they have suffered at the hands of their partners and the ongoing uphill struggles for justice they face. 

Unfolding in the backdrop to these personal narratives is the political situation in the country, with flame-fanning rhetoric from a right-wing president threatening to worsen the position of women in society, and the aftermath of an attempted coup d’état making opposition to the deeply flawed justice system a far more terrifying prospect in the face of potential arrest or even death.

There are many moments in Dying to Divorce that are incredibly hard to watch, but, astonishingly, the brutal and brazen nature of the violence these women have faced puts into even starker light the buoyancy, resilience and dignity they demonstrate as the narrative progresses.

The film has not only been nominated for a BIFA and Rose d’Or for Best Documentary and but is also the UK’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film. Furthermore, it’s being released in UK cinemas to coincide with the UN’s 16 days of Activism campaign against gender violence.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of chatting to Fairweather about why she was motivated to make the documentary, the five-year journey she went through to shoot, edit and finish it, and what she hopes people will take away from watching it.  She told us: “Although the stories and the situation were very harsh and harrowing, I was always just captivated by the strength of the women. We did see things in the political landscape get a lot worse for women and actually, they just seemed to get stronger and stronger and stronger. So that was just very deeply inspiring and was really motivating.”

Sarah Bradbury

Dying to Divorce is released in select cinemas on 26^th November 2021. Read our five-star review of the film here.

Watch the trailer for Dying to Divorce here: