Profile | Ömer Kavur 1944-2005

"it's not only cinema but every aspect of our life that has been invaded by the American image."
Ömer Kavur | Thessaloniki IFF 1997

"Le cinéma dans les années 2000... Malgré l'immense progrès technologique dans le domaine de l'audiovisuel, je crains que l'avenir du cinéma ne promette pas de grandes choses. Hier, le cinéma était réalisé par des hommes et racontait l'histoire des hommes pour un public plus ou moins sensible. Aujourd'hui, le cinéma est fait par des technocrates qui réalisent des vidéo-clips pour un public infantil. Demain... ?"
Ömer Kavur | Istanbul, novembre 1998


Turkish filmmaker Ömer Kavur was born in Ankara, in 1944. After studying journalism and sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, he went on to study film at the Conservatoire Indépendant du Cinéma Français. He returned to Turkey in 1971 and began making documentaries and commercials. In 1974, he made his first feature film, Yatik Emine. At fifty-two, having worked in film for twenty-four years, with his own production company (to avoid trouble with the censors) and with eleven feature films to his credit, Ömer Kavur is one of the principal figures of contemporary Turkish cinema. Though he is an atypical director, the kind that is difficult to classify, some may claim he is the loyal representative of the waves that have shaken Turkish cinema since the 80's; his films are intimate, ideologically committed, socially relevant and hugely popular.

FILMOGRAPHY

Yatik Emine / Emine la brûlée, (1974)
Yusuf and Kenan /Yusuf ile Kenan / Les gamins d'Istanbul, (1979)
Oh! Beautiful Istanbul / Ah güzel Istanbul / Istanbul la belle, (1981)
Lake / Göl / Le lac, (1982)
A Broken Love Story / Kirik Bir Ask Hikâyesi / Une histoire d'amour amère,
(1982)
Blindfold / Körebe / Colin-maillard, (1984)
Desperate Road / Amansiz yol / La route désespérée, (1985)
Motherland Hotel / Anayurt Oteli / Hôtel Mère-Patrie, (1986)
Night Journey / Gece yolculugu / Voyage de Nuit, (1987)
Secret Face / Gizli yüz / Le visage secret, (1991)
The Randevous / Bulusma | short film (1995)
Journey of the Clock Hand / Akrebin yolculugu / La tour de l'horloge, (1997)
Melekler Evi / Hause of Angels (2000)
Karsilasma (Encounter, 2003)