Leon and Hugo, two best friends and French soldiers, enjoy their Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte. Hugo confesses to Leon that he plays dead on the battlefield to avoid killing people. Dumbstruck, Leon initially tries to encourage his friend to kill their enemy. But after listening to Hugo’s experience with an enemy soldier and learning about his pacifist movement, Leon reconsiders. 

Director's Statement

Let’s Bring Them Alive! is a short film that delves into the complex and deeply personal journey of individuals faced with the moral dilemma of violence. Our primary goal was to create a narrative that would engage the audience emotionally and intellectually, challenging their preconceived notions about conflict and the choices people make in the face of it.

Set against the legendary painting of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte, the film contrasts the tranquility of civilian life with the chaos of the battlefield. Hugo's confession to Leon about playing dead on the battlefield to avoid taking lives, challenges traditional notions of heroism in war. Leon's initial reaction reflects society's expectations of soldiers, but as he listens to Hugo's experience connecting with an enemy soldier, his perspective shifts.

We aimed to create an atmosphere of self-examination throughout the film, drawing the audience into the emotional turmoil experienced by both characters. The scenic beauty of La Grande Jatte contrasts sharply with the horrors of the battlefield, highlighting the solid contrast between the peaceful world these soldiers yearn for and the brutal reality they must confront.

Let’s Bring Them Alive! is a meditation on the power of empathy to transcend boundaries and reshape the course of lives. It challenges us to consider the human cost of war and the profound impact that a single act of compassion can change the history. Through the lens of these two friends, we are reminded that the choices we make in the pursuit of peace can be just as heroic as any battlefield valor.

In bringing this story to life, my hope is to foster meaningful conversations about the complexities of life, the enduring bonds of friendship, and the potential for individual acts of kindness to reshape the world. Let’s Bring Them Alive! invites us to reflect on our own capacity for empathy and asks us to consider how, in the face of violence, we can choose a different path toward a more peaceful and compassionate future.

Crew

Yasemin Isil - Writer/ Producer

YASEMIN ISIL is a Turkish filmmaker. Her passion for filmmaking brought her to Los Angeles. She studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Conservatory and Film at UCLA. Upon graduating, she produced and directed her first film, The Sun and The Moon. She acted in commercials, and movies, such as I Love Your Moves and The Wars in Heaven. She co-produced The 1st Hollywood Turkish Film Festival at Paramount Studios to bond the film industries from Hollywood and Turkey. She is a Creative Manager and works at Iyuno, serving Disney and Netflix, localizing their content worldwide. She is the English Dubbing Producer of global sensation Baby Shark and Pinkfong Wonderstar. Her short film Let’s Bring Them Alive! received The Best Experimental Film Award at Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival in 2022.

Azize Erim - Writer/ Producer

AZIZE ERIM was born in London and raised in Turkey. In Turkey, she appeared in numerous commercials, as well as produced and hosted her own cooking show. In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She’d trained in Meisner Technique at Playhouse West, improv and writing at UCB. She appeared in several commercials and short films and had a role on TruTv’s I’m Sorry. She is the co-founder of Broken English sketch comedy channel on YouTube; the channel’s sketches have been featured on platforms such as Funny or Die and WhoHaha. You can catch Azize doing stand up comedy at the Flappers and Comedy Store. Azize is also a philanthropist. She is a Court Appointed Special

Advocate (CASA) for a foster child.

Éli Sokhn - Director

ÉLI SOKHN is a film director and producer with an extensive background in post-production, visual effects and animation. His work has spanned across multiple mediums and platforms, ranging from scripted narratives, music videos, commercials, docu-series, 3D animation and content for brands such as Redbull, Reebok, Adidas, Old Navy, Hollister, Nerf and more. Previous projects include, the 2012 Cannes Film Festival - short film corner selected, Green is Red, which Sokhn wrote, produced and directed; DreamWorks Animation’s episodic series for Shrek, Puss in Boots, and MeiMei directed and edited by Sokhn; and the VMA nominated music video MMM Yeah by Austin Mahone created by Sokhn. He then went on to produce and direct a variety of music videos that have garnered over 1 billion of views and many times reached #1 on YouTube and iTunes. Most recently, Sokhn produced and directed two scripted series for Awesomeness TV and Netflix. Working on a vast range of projects, Sokhn led productions and creative teams from writers, DPs, production designers, art directors, motion graphics and VFX

artists, animators, colorists and editors, and taken his projects from conception to delivery all while amassing a vast and reliable network of executives and creatives. Sokhn brings a diversity of high-quality productions to every project, where his vision is to impact the world through the art of film and telling stories on an international scale.

O.Z. Ozmen - Line Producer

O.Z. OZMEN is an award-winning line producer and physical production thought leader. He has over 10 years of producing experience, in film, television, live events, digital, and advertising. Ozmen specializes in production operations and resource management. He builds and implements systems and tools that enable the creative vision to be realized in the most efficient way possible, keeping productions running under budget and on time, and making it fun while doing it. Over the years in his production career, O.Z. Ozmen worked with brands like Sesame Street, Disney, Ford, Lexus, DreamWorks, Hot Wheels, Turkish Airlines, Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, Playboy, Omaze, McLaren, Volkswagen to name a few. He is the Line Producer and Operations Manager at Creative Agency Race Service and Head of Production for innovative production company Badass Kid.

Behind the Scenes: