Story of drowned Syrian toddler set to be film

By Ali Balli

MUGLA, Turkey (AA) – The life of Aylan Kurdi -- a three-year-old Syrian toddler, who drowned on a Turkish coast in 2015 while trying to cross to Europe -- will be made into a movie in southwestern Turkey.

Turkish Director Omer Sarikaya has begun shooting for “Baby Aylan” in Bodrum district of Mugla province, where the tragic incident occurred. The movie is produced by George Edde and Bahattin Ozturk.

American actors Steven Seagal and Mike Mitchell and German actress Wilma Elles will be starring in the movie.

“When this happened, I couldn't sleep for a while. It was always on my mind,” Sarikaya, who is also the scriptwriter, told Anadolu Agency.”

“I was thinking that ‘Hopefully, someone will shoot a film about it and send a message to the world’ but nobody has done it so far. I am doing it now,” he said.

The income of the movie will be donated for humanitarian aid. None of the actors and actresses will earn money from the movie, Sarikaya said.

The shootings are planned to be completed on July 20. The gala of the movie is set to be in Bodrum, on Sept. 2.

Photos of Kurdi’s body had gone viral on social media, causing international outrage and frustration at the international community's failure to help desperate families in Syria.