No Friend but the Mountains

ھیچ دۆستێک جگە لە چیاکان

Melisa Diktaş & Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter
Photo by Kenneth Ly

If we were free - what would we want our world to look like? 'No Friend but the Mountains' is a Kurdish expression expressing humans’ flight toward refuge from war and injustice. Using a choreographic compass, ‘No Friend but the Mountains’ intermittently juxtaposes our combative present, our dimly perceived prehistoric past, and our journey toward a more humane future. The performers intersects ancient knowledge and decolonial ritual, inviting the audience to envision a future where people are finally free to reacquaint with the earth.

In an encounter between music and text by Luna Ersahin, dancers Melisa Diktaş and Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter, these multiple temporal perspectives of the mountains are danced in a powerful interplay spanning past, present and future. Throughout the film, Marit-Shirin is paying homage to her father, linking a family line of freedom fighters by establishing modes of resistance by dancing. As such, the urgency of 'No Friend but the Mountains' molds dancing into a unifying force: between human relationships, between performers and the observers.

Short film

Filming and editing by Kenneth Ly
Location: Gurhketjåhke, Västerbotten
Dancers: Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter & Melisa Diktaş.
Music and text: Luna Ersahin/AySay
Production Assistant: Lucile Bensimon
Official selection: CinéCorps in Rennes 2025, Botkyrka Konsthall 2025, Dansfilmfestivalen, Gothenburg 2024, Scenkonstbiennalen 2025

Chapters

Chapter 1
The idea behind the creative process started with a reflection upon activism and the fight for human rights, if we were to be free - what would we like the world to be, look like? Together with artist Anahita Babaei, we reseached the kurdish/iranian liberation movement, Jîn Jîyan, Azadi, and what we really mean by freedom for women under oppression. What are we fighting for?

The project took its first steps by organising a workshop week/research in Brussels 2022 at Garage29 and later in Stockholm to investigate these questions, gathering Indigenous women and non-binary dancers from Kurdistan, South America and Sápmi to weave, sing and perform together. The residency at SITE Stockholm resulted in a showcase at Dansens Hus Stockholm for the programme ‘Movers Signum’ 2022.

Chapter 2
Making of the short dancefilm ‘No Friend but the Mountains’ at Gurhketjåhke, Sápmi with Umeå based filmmaker Kenneth Ly (scroll down for link)
Participants: Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter, Melisa Diktaş, Luna Ersahin/Aysay
PA: Lulu Bensimon
The film may be requested for screenings, exhibitions and festivals. Email us for more information: info@humansandsoil.com

Chapter 3:
The project was granted a residency with Davvi - Senter før Scenekunst in 2024, where Kurdish and Sámi artists gathered to explore commonalities in Kurdish music and Sámi jojk. The residency resulted in a cultural exchange in Karasjok and Jergul, as well as a visit to the National Sámi Theatre in Guovdageaidnu 2024. Featured artists; Melisa Diktaş, Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter, Luna Ersahin, Ingá Márjá Sarre.
After the exchange, the project had a residency in Ubmeje/Umeå at Dotra Art Centre together with Anthony Rice Perttunen, Ingá Márjá Sarre, Marit-Shirin Carolasdotter, Stella Blanc and Hector Palacios. These encounters led to a new team forming a performance under the name Rrîtm in 2025.

Supported by:
Norrlandsoperan, Beáivvaš - Sámi Našunálateáhter, Nordic Culture Point,
Dansinitiativet, Konstnärsnämnden, Davvi - Senter for Scenekunst, The Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Dáiddafoanda, Dans i Västerbotten, Danscentrum Norr, Pohjanmaan Tanssin Aluekeskus