There are no photographs of her, no letters that bear her handwriting. She died without leaving any record of her existence. Only in memory does she live on.

For years, Montreal filmmaker Eylem Kaftan has been haunted by a family mystery: the murder of her aunt Guzide nearly three decades ago. In the documentary Vendetta Song , Kaftan returns to her Kurdish roots in eastern Turkey to uncover the truth, and to confront the ancient traditions that cost Guzide her life.

Vendetta Song is a presentation of DLI Productions and the National Film Board of Canada. The film makes its encore presentation on VisionTV, airing on Wednesday, Oct.3 at 10 p.m. ET.

Kaftan's father knows almost nothing of his sister Guzide. She was sent away as an infant to be raised by relatives in a remote Kurdish village. All he has of her now is a faded photograph of Guzide's two brothers-in-law, and the recollection of an old rumour: that one of these two men took her life in an “honour killing.”

The practice of honour killing – in which men murder female relatives who are perceived to have brought “dishonour” on the family – is an ancient custom that persists in many parts of the world, including the Middle East and South Asia, as well as within immigrant communities in Western countries. The United Nations has estimated that as many as 5,000 women are slain in this manner every year. Girls and women can lose their lives for countless reasons, from holding hands with a boy to refusing an arranged marriage.

Armed with a few slender clues, Kaftan travels to Millan, the tiny village where Guzide was raised. Here, in a place that doesn't appear on any map, she meets people who recall her aunt as a larger than life figure, and who have made her death the subject of folklore and song.

Kaftan discovers a world out of time, in which arranged marriages, blood feuds and honour killings are still a part of life. It is a place where men rule, and where a young groom's sister can be given away in payment to the family of his bride as if she were a head of cattle.

Bit by bit, Kaftan begins to piece together the tragic story of Guzide's life: the death of her first husband in a blood feud, the loss of her children, and the fateful decision that finally sealed her doom. Ultimately, Kaftan's quest leads her to a meeting with one of the men she suspects of murdering her aunt – and to the answers she has been seeking for so long.

Vendetta Song is produced by DLI Productions in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, and in association with VisionTV. The film was written and directed by Eylem Kaftan, and produced by Abbey Neidik and Irene Lilienheim Angelico (for DLI Productions) and Germaine Ying Gee Wong (for the NFB). Sally Bochner was the executive producer.

Vendetta Song

The Filmmakers

Eylem Kaftan – Director/Writer

Eylem Kaftan was born in Turkey and completed a B.A. in Philosophy at Bogazici University in Istanbul. She went on to earn a Masters degree in Cinema at York University in Toronto, where she worked as a teaching assistant and wrote her thesis on the identity crisis in post-1980 Turkish cinema.

Kaftan's first documentary, Faultlines , investigated the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Turkey in 1999, and won Best Short Film along with the Jury Prize at the Planet Indie Film Festival in Toronto.

In addition to writing and directing Vendetta Song , Kaftan is co-directing a film about Montreal's non-status Algerians for Télé-Québec.

Abbey Neidik/Irene Lilienheim Angelico – Producers, DLI Productions

Abbey Neidik has been involved in making more than 50 films, including two Academy Award nominees. He has earned Genie Awards for the films A Song for Tibet and Volcano: An Inquiry Into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry .

Irene Lilienheim Angelico began her career as a director and editor with the National Film Board of Canada. Her works have been selected to represent the best of the NFB's Studio D at retrospectives in England and France. She is also the founding chair of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus (CIFC) – Montreal.

Angelico and Neidik teamed up in 1980 to form DLI Productions. Their first feature documentary, Dark Lullabies ( Berceuse pour des ombres ) earned critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe and Japan, and received a number of international awards.

Other DLI productions include Entre Solitudes ( Between The Solitudes ), The Journey Home: A Romanian Adoption and the award-winning She Got Game: Coming of Age on the WTA Tour .

Germaine Ying Gee Wong – Producer, NFB