’Nobody Dies in a Gypsy Wedding' is a personal account that gives us an intimate insight into the lives of the Vurgun family and life in a Roma community in Istanbul over a period of 18 years.

'It was a warm day, the first time that I walked on the quay in Kadıköy. Ferryboats were crossing the Bosporus, the waterway which divides the city between Europe and Asia. Through a stream of commuters, mothers with children, students and tourists, I heard the sound of someone beating a drum. When I came closer, I saw a little boy of about six years of age sitting on the pavement. He was holding a darbuka between his legs. In front of him lay a cardboard box with a few coins.Watching the scene with curiosity, I noticed a big Romani man sitting a few meters behind the little boy. This must be his father, I thought. A little further on I saw a group of girls in brightly coloured long skirts. Occasionally they clung to the passersby trying to sell them paper tissues..I was not aware that many Roma live in Turkey. The Roma, what did I actually know about them?
On that day September 2001 in Istanbul, I met Sezgin and his son Mustafa, the little darbuka boy, for the first time. Simple questions arose in my mind: Who are these people? How do they live? What defines their identity? I had certain fantasies and probably some prejudices. I wanted to learn the realities. To find answers, the idea to follow the lives of Sezgin and his family for an uncertain period came to me.'