Un poète devenu par la force des choses simple bouquiniste à Istanbul revient dans son village natal. Ayla, autrefois secrètement amoureuse de lui, l’invite à s’acquitter du rituel que la mort à empêcher sa mère d’accomplir. Sur ces riens, ces non-dits, ces émotions refoulées et ces sentiments avortés, le cinéaste construit un scénario en demi-teinte et prouve, à travers une mise en scène pudique, un superbe sens du détail palliant un dialogue volontairement épuré. Il compose avec cette histoire simple et ces sentiments universels une mélopée mélancolique d’une belle puissance émotionnelle. Et confirme aux côtes de Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Les climats) le renouveau du cinéma turc.
Xavier Leherpeur
Monday, April 28, 2008
Critique | "Yumurta" LE MONDE
Critique
"Yumurta" : après la mort de la mère, parcours élégiaque vers la sérénité
LE MONDE | 22.04.08
Il y a d'abord ce plan d'une vieille femme qui marche dans une brume de campagne, sur fond sonore d'aboiements de chien, de chants d'oiseau. Elle sort du champ, définitivement. Et voilà maintenant Yusuf, libraire à Istanbul, poète. Voilà des informations distillées au fil d'images apparemment anodines, mais qui recèlent un sens caché : la voiture de Yusuf dans un long tunnel qui débouche sur la lumière, Yusuf assis près d'un corps recouvert d'un linceul, Yusuf devant une tombe et suivi comme son ombre par un petit garçon, Yusuf couché dans une forêt et réveillé par une nuée d'oiseaux.
L'avis du "Monde"
EXCELLENT
Bel exposé, au lyrisme discret et aux visions psychanalytiques, de ce que vient de vivre le héros, la mort de sa mère, son enterrement dans le village natal de Yusuf, un défilé d'émotions, chaos de sensations, qui le ramènent à sa petite enfance, remontent le temps, mélangent vie et songes.
Yusuf n'a de cesse de repartir au plus vite. Mais il y a quelque chose qui le retient, ou plutôt quelqu'un, qui l'aide à s'accomplir et à honorer le voeu de la défunte, quelqu'un qui le réconcilie avec ses souvenirs et lui ouvre les portes de l'avenir. Une jeune cousine, Ayla, dévouée à la mère dans ses derniers instants, garante de la tradition et de la survivance spirituelle des morts, humble servante, fille pure et désirable.
UN ÉTRANGE COMA
Humblement, comme dans un film d'Ozu ou de Satyajit Ray, Yumurta égrène de petits gestes anodins et isole des objets qui ont valeur de symbole. Une fleur plantée dans un pot un jour d'enterrement, un bol de lait, une brosse à dents, un pilier de bois en forme de crucifix, un puits envahi d'herbes, cet oeuf qui donne son titre au film et dont on guette l'apparition, signe du lien avec la mère, tardivement assumé.
Car Yusuf l'athée va mettre du temps à ressentir et à extérioriser son chagrin. Il faudra qu'Ayla insiste pour qu'il accomplisse le rite promis par sa mère avant de mourir : sacrifier un bélier dans la montagne. Il faudra cet étrange coma dans la cour du notaire et l'irrationnel écho d'une prière des obsèques, l'odeur d'un oignon, un cauchemar, des rencontres avec des fantômes du passé, l'exorcisme d'une déception amoureuse, et la découverte, au fil des heures et des jours, qu'Ayla est la discrète messagère de sa sérénité.
La nuque d'Ayla brûlant des feuilles mortes, une couleur de tricot, une panne d'électricité, un chant du coq : Semih Kaplanoglu ne cesse d'égrener des symptômes, de faire parler l'inconscient par le déroulement des gestes quotidiens, le départ sans cesse différé de Yusuf, le taciturne. Le cinéaste compose des cadres amples, des plans rigoureux, un rythme lent et harmonieux, pour épier ce qu'il y a d'admirable chez un homme ou une femme : la dignité, la fidélité, la grandeur d'âme, le regard, la patience, le doute et le tourment aussi.
La vieille amnésique qui, voyant Yusuf et Ayla ensemble, les prend pour de jeunes mariés, ne se trompe pas de beaucoup. Il y a quelque chose qui va illuminer ce couple, à tout jamais, quand la poule aura pondu. Semih Kaplanoglu maîtrise parfaitement son style élégiaque, limpide et poétique, ténébreux et radieux. Dans l'ombre de Nuri Bilge Ceylan, la Turquie vient de se découvrir un grand cinéaste.
Film turc de Semih Kaplanoglu. Avec Nejat Isler, Saadet Isil Aksoy. (1 h 37.)
Jean-Luc Douin
"Yumurta" : après la mort de la mère, parcours élégiaque vers la sérénité
LE MONDE | 22.04.08
Il y a d'abord ce plan d'une vieille femme qui marche dans une brume de campagne, sur fond sonore d'aboiements de chien, de chants d'oiseau. Elle sort du champ, définitivement. Et voilà maintenant Yusuf, libraire à Istanbul, poète. Voilà des informations distillées au fil d'images apparemment anodines, mais qui recèlent un sens caché : la voiture de Yusuf dans un long tunnel qui débouche sur la lumière, Yusuf assis près d'un corps recouvert d'un linceul, Yusuf devant une tombe et suivi comme son ombre par un petit garçon, Yusuf couché dans une forêt et réveillé par une nuée d'oiseaux.
L'avis du "Monde"
EXCELLENT
Bel exposé, au lyrisme discret et aux visions psychanalytiques, de ce que vient de vivre le héros, la mort de sa mère, son enterrement dans le village natal de Yusuf, un défilé d'émotions, chaos de sensations, qui le ramènent à sa petite enfance, remontent le temps, mélangent vie et songes.
Yusuf n'a de cesse de repartir au plus vite. Mais il y a quelque chose qui le retient, ou plutôt quelqu'un, qui l'aide à s'accomplir et à honorer le voeu de la défunte, quelqu'un qui le réconcilie avec ses souvenirs et lui ouvre les portes de l'avenir. Une jeune cousine, Ayla, dévouée à la mère dans ses derniers instants, garante de la tradition et de la survivance spirituelle des morts, humble servante, fille pure et désirable.
UN ÉTRANGE COMA
Humblement, comme dans un film d'Ozu ou de Satyajit Ray, Yumurta égrène de petits gestes anodins et isole des objets qui ont valeur de symbole. Une fleur plantée dans un pot un jour d'enterrement, un bol de lait, une brosse à dents, un pilier de bois en forme de crucifix, un puits envahi d'herbes, cet oeuf qui donne son titre au film et dont on guette l'apparition, signe du lien avec la mère, tardivement assumé.
Car Yusuf l'athée va mettre du temps à ressentir et à extérioriser son chagrin. Il faudra qu'Ayla insiste pour qu'il accomplisse le rite promis par sa mère avant de mourir : sacrifier un bélier dans la montagne. Il faudra cet étrange coma dans la cour du notaire et l'irrationnel écho d'une prière des obsèques, l'odeur d'un oignon, un cauchemar, des rencontres avec des fantômes du passé, l'exorcisme d'une déception amoureuse, et la découverte, au fil des heures et des jours, qu'Ayla est la discrète messagère de sa sérénité.
La nuque d'Ayla brûlant des feuilles mortes, une couleur de tricot, une panne d'électricité, un chant du coq : Semih Kaplanoglu ne cesse d'égrener des symptômes, de faire parler l'inconscient par le déroulement des gestes quotidiens, le départ sans cesse différé de Yusuf, le taciturne. Le cinéaste compose des cadres amples, des plans rigoureux, un rythme lent et harmonieux, pour épier ce qu'il y a d'admirable chez un homme ou une femme : la dignité, la fidélité, la grandeur d'âme, le regard, la patience, le doute et le tourment aussi.
La vieille amnésique qui, voyant Yusuf et Ayla ensemble, les prend pour de jeunes mariés, ne se trompe pas de beaucoup. Il y a quelque chose qui va illuminer ce couple, à tout jamais, quand la poule aura pondu. Semih Kaplanoglu maîtrise parfaitement son style élégiaque, limpide et poétique, ténébreux et radieux. Dans l'ombre de Nuri Bilge Ceylan, la Turquie vient de se découvrir un grand cinéaste.
Film turc de Semih Kaplanoglu. Avec Nejat Isler, Saadet Isil Aksoy. (1 h 37.)
Jean-Luc Douin
Friday, April 25, 2008
"Eternal Flight: Hrant Dink"
"Eternal Flight: Hrant Dink" Film To Be Ready By July 10
Yerevan, June 28, Armenpress: A film dedicated to the Turkish-Armenian journalist, chief editor of "Agos" newspaper Hrant Dink "Eternal Flight: Hrant Dink" will be ready by July 10.Director of the film Hrant Hakobian [1] told Armenpress that at present film editing works are being carried out. The film was to be ready by late May but it was postponed as the brother of the chief editor Yervand Dink promised the film director to provide additional materials.Thirty-minute long film is being shot in "Hayk" film studio on state funds. The shootings were particularly made in "Agos" newspaper's office, at Hrant Dink's home, in his birthplace Malatia."It is difficult to say to what genre the film belongs but it is like a close conversation between me and Hrant," the film director said.The idea to shot a film occurred to the director when H. Dink was alive, in November 2006.The film will be translated into English and Turkish and will be shown in Turkey as well.
[1] Hrant Hakobyan (Armenia) was born on May 30, in 1950 in Yerevan. In 1970 entered Armenian Pedagogical Institute after Khachatur Abovyan, the faculty of culture, department of directoring (master: Laert Vagharshyan). In 1974 graduated from the institute and left for the city Ijevan, where between 1974-1979 has organized 14 performances. Between 1979-1988 he worked at “Haykfilm” studio, first as a director assistant, then as a second director. In 1982 he left for Moscow for a probation period at director Ilya Frez. Since 1988 works at “Hayk” film studio. Has shot more than 30 documentary films: “Armenia in occupation”, “Monte”, “Without comments”, “My motherland Armenia”, “The people of the forgotthen Island” etc. He is the authour of a number of TV programs. In 2006 at “Golden Apricot” International Film Festival competition program “Armenian Panorama” his film “The people of the forgotten Island” won the first prize. In the same year at “Kinoshok” International Film Festival of the city Anapa the same film was awarded the first prize in the “Films without Prints” program. In 2006 Romania’s ECO-ETNO-FOLK FILM festival the film “Syunik” from the “My motherland Armenia” film-series won a diplom. Now at “Hayk” film studio is being shot the film “Eternal flight, Hrant Dink”.
Yerevan, June 28, Armenpress: A film dedicated to the Turkish-Armenian journalist, chief editor of "Agos" newspaper Hrant Dink "Eternal Flight: Hrant Dink" will be ready by July 10.Director of the film Hrant Hakobian [1] told Armenpress that at present film editing works are being carried out. The film was to be ready by late May but it was postponed as the brother of the chief editor Yervand Dink promised the film director to provide additional materials.Thirty-minute long film is being shot in "Hayk" film studio on state funds. The shootings were particularly made in "Agos" newspaper's office, at Hrant Dink's home, in his birthplace Malatia."It is difficult to say to what genre the film belongs but it is like a close conversation between me and Hrant," the film director said.The idea to shot a film occurred to the director when H. Dink was alive, in November 2006.The film will be translated into English and Turkish and will be shown in Turkey as well.
[1] Hrant Hakobyan (Armenia) was born on May 30, in 1950 in Yerevan. In 1970 entered Armenian Pedagogical Institute after Khachatur Abovyan, the faculty of culture, department of directoring (master: Laert Vagharshyan). In 1974 graduated from the institute and left for the city Ijevan, where between 1974-1979 has organized 14 performances. Between 1979-1988 he worked at “Haykfilm” studio, first as a director assistant, then as a second director. In 1982 he left for Moscow for a probation period at director Ilya Frez. Since 1988 works at “Hayk” film studio. Has shot more than 30 documentary films: “Armenia in occupation”, “Monte”, “Without comments”, “My motherland Armenia”, “The people of the forgotthen Island” etc. He is the authour of a number of TV programs. In 2006 at “Golden Apricot” International Film Festival competition program “Armenian Panorama” his film “The people of the forgotten Island” won the first prize. In the same year at “Kinoshok” International Film Festival of the city Anapa the same film was awarded the first prize in the “Films without Prints” program. In 2006 Romania’s ECO-ETNO-FOLK FILM festival the film “Syunik” from the “My motherland Armenia” film-series won a diplom. Now at “Hayk” film studio is being shot the film “Eternal flight, Hrant Dink”.
Tribeca | Hüseyin Karabey
Hüseyin Karabey
Hüseyin Karabey is regarded as one of Turkey's new directing talents at a time when the independent film scene in Turkey is beginning to gain global attention. Karabey developed My Marlon and Brando with Ayça Damgaci, whose true story it tells. Karabey's previous work includes Boran, a short film that explores the disappearances of 5,000 political activists in Turkey during the '90s by merging fact and dramatic treatment, and the feature-length docudrama Silent Death. His documentary Breath was an exclusive look at Pina Bausch, the world-famous German choreographer. Karabey lectures at universities and cultural organizations in Turkey, and his films have won numerous awards.
Director Statement (My Marlon and Brando)
My Marlon and Brando is not a story that we’re used to seeing on screen. It is a story that moves from West to East, against the common current, in a quest for happiness. It is also the true powerful love story of Hama Ali and Ayça. I hope it can shatter some perceptions of the region and introduce audiences to some real, passionate characters. My Marlon and Brando is a personal story that echoes both my own experiences and those of Ayça, whose story it tells. Ayça plays herself in the film. Despite the emotional challenge, she was determined to take audiences on the journey she made herself five years ago.
I passionately believe that if we all had the chance to hear someone else’s story every day of our lives, there would be much deeper cultural understanding. Ayça and I developed the script together with reality intercepting throughout the production period. Ultimately My Marlon and Brando is a love story set against a violent political landscape that is the tragic reality. To me, as challenges in the region continue, it is so important that we do not forget the individuals who inhabit this landscape.
This film blends the real and the fictitious, exposing the interpretive channels shaped by broadcasting policy and national interest, through which we are usually presented life in Iran and Iraq. In the end, our unlikely hero Hama Ali is no longer a faceless refugee from the news but a man who we have come to really know through his charming video love letters.
Ayça’s journey through Iran, Iraq, and Turkey also helps us to witness the meaninglessness of the borders between these countries. We hear the same music and the same jokes across the official borders that provide such a barrier between Ayça and her love.
Hüseyin Karabey is regarded as one of Turkey's new directing talents at a time when the independent film scene in Turkey is beginning to gain global attention. Karabey developed My Marlon and Brando with Ayça Damgaci, whose true story it tells. Karabey's previous work includes Boran, a short film that explores the disappearances of 5,000 political activists in Turkey during the '90s by merging fact and dramatic treatment, and the feature-length docudrama Silent Death. His documentary Breath was an exclusive look at Pina Bausch, the world-famous German choreographer. Karabey lectures at universities and cultural organizations in Turkey, and his films have won numerous awards.
Director Statement (My Marlon and Brando)
My Marlon and Brando is not a story that we’re used to seeing on screen. It is a story that moves from West to East, against the common current, in a quest for happiness. It is also the true powerful love story of Hama Ali and Ayça. I hope it can shatter some perceptions of the region and introduce audiences to some real, passionate characters. My Marlon and Brando is a personal story that echoes both my own experiences and those of Ayça, whose story it tells. Ayça plays herself in the film. Despite the emotional challenge, she was determined to take audiences on the journey she made herself five years ago.
I passionately believe that if we all had the chance to hear someone else’s story every day of our lives, there would be much deeper cultural understanding. Ayça and I developed the script together with reality intercepting throughout the production period. Ultimately My Marlon and Brando is a love story set against a violent political landscape that is the tragic reality. To me, as challenges in the region continue, it is so important that we do not forget the individuals who inhabit this landscape.
This film blends the real and the fictitious, exposing the interpretive channels shaped by broadcasting policy and national interest, through which we are usually presented life in Iran and Iraq. In the end, our unlikely hero Hama Ali is no longer a faceless refugee from the news but a man who we have come to really know through his charming video love letters.
Ayça’s journey through Iran, Iraq, and Turkey also helps us to witness the meaninglessness of the borders between these countries. We hear the same music and the same jokes across the official borders that provide such a barrier between Ayça and her love.
Tribeca | My Marlon and Brando (Gitmek)
My Marlon and Brando(Gitmek)
In English, Kurdish, Turkish with English subtitles.
2008 92 min Feature Narrative
Directed by: Hüseyin Karabey North American Premiere
www.asifilm.com
Director: Hüseyin Karabey
Principal Cast: Ayça Damgaci, Hama Ali Khan, Savas Emrah Ozdemir, Cengiz Bozkurt, Ani Pekkaya, Volga Sorgu Tekinoglu
Screenwriters: Hüseyin Karabey, Ayça Damgaci
Producers: Lucinda Englehart, Hüseyin Karabey, Sophie Lorant
Editor: Mary Stephen
Co-Producers: Jeroen Beker, Frans van Gestel, Harry Sutherland, Dennis Tal
Director of Photography: A. Emre Tanyildiz
Composers: Kemal S. Gurel, Erdal Guney, Huseyin Yildiz
Program Notes
In March 2003, as American bombs began falling on Baghdad, Turkish actress Ayça Damgaci left her flat in Istanbul and headed for the Iraq border. Behind that cordon was Kurdish actor Hama Ali Khan, the love of Damgaci's life-her moon and stars, her Marlon and her Brando, her everything. Hüseyin Karabey makes his narrative debut retelling the tale of Damgaci's quixotic road trip to the war zone, with Damgaci playing herself and Khan appearing in the actual video love notes he sent to her during their time apart. My Marlon and Brando is a piece of rough magic, a film with a soul as light, a heart as heavy, and a will as steely as its heroine's own.
Karabey's experience as a director of documentaries shines through in his devotion to ethnographic detail-he's eager to let the camera stray, vérité-style, and this helps to bring home Damgaci's growing sense of dislocation. Borders may be porous, but it is still possible to feel a stranger in a strange land. Really, though, the movie is Damgaci's-a brave, tender, and frequently very funny tribute to her love for Khan. Read aloud, her letters to him make for something wonderful and new in the history of lovers beseeching. Communicating in English, their shared tongue, Damgaci's clumsy grasp of the language elevates into rhetoric all the more moving for being flawed. Likewise, through Khan's ham-fistedly hilarious videos, you miss him on Dagmaci's behalf. Politics may turn this comedy about unlikely lovers into a tragedy, but even in its fleeting ungainliness, My Marlon and Brando is a fitting homage to Damgaci and Khan, two matched souls that no impassable border could ever tear asunder. Co-hosted with The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project.
– Peter Scarlet
Print Source, Sales Contact
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INSOMNIA World Sales
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Press Contact
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Tribeca Film Festival
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Available Territories: All rights and territories available except Turkey, Iran, Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, China
Crossing Borders: A Cinematic Journey from the West to the East
An In-Depth Conversation on My Marlon and Brando, a film by Huseyin Karabey, competing in the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Date: May 2, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
Location: NYU Tisch School of the Arts, 721 Broadway (corner of Waverly), Screening Room 109, New York, NY 10003
The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project Present Crossing Borders: A Cinematic Journey from the West to the East
An In-Depth Conversation on GITMEK / MY MARLON AND BRANDO
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Huseyin Karabey’s feature debut Gitmek / My Marlon and Brando makes its North American Premiere in 2008 Tribeca Film Festival’s World Narrative Feature Competition . Three years ago, in real-life, Hama Ali, a charismatic B movie actor from Iraq, and Ayca,a fiery actress from Turkey, met on a film-set. Their love affair continued across borders through video love letters until the war in Iraq. As people fled from East to West seeking safety, Ayca decided to make the journey from West to East, seeking her lover. My Marlon and Brando, a feature film in which Ayca plays herself, is based on her extraordinary and, ultimately unexpected, experiences in such sad, mad times….
PANELISTS:
Having studied Dramaturgy and Theater Science at Istanbul University, Ayca Damgaci began her professional acting career at Tiyatro Oyunevi (Theater Playhouse) in 1998. She won the Best Actress Award for her performance in My Marlon and Brando at the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival. She is the founder and one of the lead vocals for “Gocebe Sarkilar” (The Nomadic Songs), a music band singing Sephardic, Roman, Armenian, Andalucian, Balkan, and Anatolian songs. Damgaci is currently rehearsing day and night for two theater productions by Bilsak Theater Atelier and Garaj Istanbul.
Bilge Ebiri is a Turkish American film critic and filmmaker. He writes about film for New York Magazine, Bookforum, and Nerve.com. His first feature film, a comedy thriller entitled New Guy, was released in 2004, and he is currently at work on his second.
Film producer, Lucinda Englehart, is based in London but works on co-productions around the world. Having studied Political Science at Cambridge University, she moved to Cape Town. Here, she wrote extensively on the experience of documentary subjects telling their stories of apartheid memory and produced a number of South African feature films and documentaries. She met Huseyin Karabey at the Venice Film Festival and having heard the extraordinary true story told in My Marlon and Brando, came on board to produce this feature film with him.
Regarded as one of the new directing talents in Turkey’s growing independent film scene, Huseyin Karabey developed My Marlon and Brando with Ayça Damgaci. His previous work includes Boran, a short film that explores the disappearance of 5,000 Turkish political activists in the 1990s by bringing together actual facts and dramatic elements, and the feature-length docudrama Silent Death. His documentary Breath was an exclusive look at Pina Bausch, the world-famous German choreographer. Karabey lectures at universities and cultural organizations in Turkey, and his films have won numerous awards.
Review | My Marlon and Brando (2008)
Rotterdam
My Marlon and Brando Gitmek (Turkey - Netherlands - U.K.)
By JAY WEISSBERGAn
A-si Film Yapim (Turkey)/Motel Films (Netherlands)/Spier Films (U.K.) production, in association with Mechant Loup Prods., Ajans 21. (International sales: Insomnia World Sales, Paris.) Produced by Huseyin Karabey, Lucinda Englehart, Sophie Lorant. Executive producer, Lucinda Englehart. Co-producers, Jeroen Beker, Frans van Gestel, Dennis Tal, Harry Sutherland. Directed by Huseyin Karabey. Screenplay, Karabey, Ayca Damgaci.
With: Ayca Damgaci, Hama Ali Khan, Mahir Gunsiray, Volga Sorgu Tekinoglu, Savas Emrah Ozdemir, Cengiz Bozkurt, Ani Ipekkaya, Nesrin Cavadzade, Hakan Milli, Saadet Ciraci, Claude Leon, Serkan Salman, Ferdiye Bolu, Ahmet Yuksel Or, Omer Sahin, Riza Bas, Rahim Simsek, Sibel Ince, Sabri Mucairet. (Turkish, English, Kurdish, and Farsi dialogue)
The true-life border-crossing romance between a Turkish actress and her Kurdish lover gets a semi-fictional work-up when the real thesp takes on her own role in docu helmer Huseyin Karabey's fiction-feature debut, "My Marlon and Brando." Though there's something oddly masochistic about watching someone play herself in a tragedy, star Ayca Damgaci isn't aiming for the therapeutic route, and while Karabey works best when sticking close to his docu roots, he's crafted a moving statement on war and the confining artificiality of borders. Euro arthouses and fests should join in the journey.
Amid the growing paranoia created by constant news reports of the U.S.' imminent invasion of Baghdad, thesp Damgaci tries to stay in close contact with Hama Ali Khan, an actor in Iraqi Kurdistan she fell in love with some months before. With English as their sole common language, they exchange letters and video diaries (Hama Ali's real vids are used) full of the hyperbole of new love.
But as war breaks out, Damgaci becomes increasingly frustrated by the distance between her home in Istanbul and his in Suleymaniye, near the Iranian frontier. Appeals to Kurds for advice to get across the border are met with discouragement, so she finally makes the cross-country trip by bus and cab, arriving at the town of Habur, only to find that she can't get through to Iraq.
Damgaci is both naive and brave -- she understands what she wants and is determined to get it, but Hama Ali's constant delays make her question whether he really wants to be with her after a year and a half apart. When she finally gets him on the phone, they agree it'll be easier to meet in Iran, so north she goes, into an unknown country where she feels more isolated than ever.
It's painful at times, watching Damgaci go through her story as if it's happening all over again, especially as weariness, fear and despair take control. Her letters are achingly honest, full of deep yearning and insecurity, and this added authenticity unquestionably makes for a more poignant film. Counter to expectations, she's a baby-faced, zaftig woman, Hama Ali an older, jovial fellow: This touch of the everyman strengthens the sense of commonality.
Helming is best when approaching the subject from a docu viewpoint; Karabey ("Silent Death") has an appropriately curious eye for the details around his characters in the form of emotionally focused reportage. An extended scene where Damgaci and her cab driver stumble on a rural wedding inserts both a sense of joy and a warmly ethnographic aspect, but Karabey's style as a fiction helmer isn't fully formed.
Music uses melodies from the various nations, including the unmistakable, riveting voice of Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan, in ways that often increase the sense of melancholic longing. As a title, "My Marlon and Brando" sounds less jokey when heard among a list of endearments ("You are my everything," etc.), and a literal translation of the Turkish "Gitmek," approximately "take oneself away to a place," doesn't work well in English.
Camera (HDV-to-35mm), A. Emre Tanyildiz; editor, Mary Stephen; music, Kemal S. Gurel, Huseyin Yildiz, Erdal Guney; production designer, Alper Yanar; costume designer, Yasemin Taskin; sound (Dolby), Mohammed Mokhtari, Denis Kologlu, Arwin Bakker; line producer, Ozcan Alper; assistant director, Guliz Saglam; casting, Banu Ozturk. Reviewed at Rotterdam Film Festival (Time & Tide), Jan. 25, 2008. Running time: 93 MIN.
Review | Fighter (2008)
Helmer Natasha Arthy's martial arts drama about a student torn between her Turkish family and her kung fu dreams.
Fighter (Denmark)
A Sandrew Metronome release of a Nimbus Film production, in co-production with Angel Film, Filmgear, Nordisk Film Shortcut, Blixt Kamera. (International sales: Delphis Films, Montreal.) Produced by Johnny Andersen. Executive producers, Brigitte Hald, Bo Ehrhardt. Directed by Natasha Arthy. Screenplay, Arthy, Nikolaj Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg.
With Semra Turan, Cyron Melville, Xian Gao, Nima Nabipour, Molly Blixt Egelind, Behruz Banissi, Sadi Tekelioglu, Ozlem Saglanmak.
(Danish, Turkish, English dialogue)
By ALISSA SIMON
The headstrong daughter of conservative Turkish immigrants in Copenhagen tries to meet her uneducated parents' high expectations while remaining true to her private passion -- kung fu -- in "Fighter." Quality teen drama boasts an appealingly feisty heroine and high-energy martial arts action choreographed by Xian Gao ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Fresh spin on cross-cultural romance and coming-of-age plotlines will compel fests to enter the ring. The first Danish action pic to employ international stunt and wire specialists, "Fighter" garnered enthusiastic reviews and healthy box office on Dec. 12 local release. Niche arthouse play, particularly in Europe and Asia, is conceivable.
High school student Aicha (engaging nonpro Semra Turan) is constantly on the run, literally and figuratively. Between familial duties and devotion to her sport, she has little time for schoolwork, and certainly none for a boyfriend. Although her traditional father forbids it, Aicha joins an elite kung fu club run by a strict Chinese sifu (Gao) who secretly admires her spunk. Males and females fight together, making Aicha slightly uncomfortable.
After advanced student Emil (agile heartthrob Cyron Melville) is ordered to practice with Aicha, the two gradually develop deeper feelings. An exhilarating extended montage of them training together, running and across roof tops, features breathtaking wire- and stuntwork.
Meanwhile, Aicha's older brother Ali (Nima Nabipour), a physician, hopes to marry Jasmin (Ozlem Saglanmak), a woman from a higher-status family; they're anxious that Aicha's immodest behavior not jeopardize the wedding. When Omar (Behruz Banissi), a friend of Jasmin's family, joins Aicha's class, the stage is set for disaster until Aicha learns to claim responsibility for her own choices.
Fine fight choreography furthers the emotional and dramatic development of the plot. The intensity of Aicha and Emil's feelings is convincingly portrayed through the physicality of their stylized matches, something more sensual than another awkward teen sex scene.
The graceful young actors, many nonpro with martial-arts experience, lend the story extra credibility. Gao has a commanding presence, despite very little dialogue.
Standout production design and cinematography convey apt visual corollaries for the heroine's lack of private time and space, surrounding her with constantly ticking watches, clocks and alarms. Aicha's recurring nightmare of fighting a masked ninja gets a sleek fantasy look that contrasts with the rest of the pic's grainy urban atmosphere.
Camera (color, 16mm-to-35mm, widescreen), Sebastian Wintero; editor, Kaspar Leick; music, Saqib, Frithjof Toksvig; production designer, Peter de Neergaard; costume designer, Susie Bjornvad; sound (Dolby SR); sound designer, Hans Moller; martial arts choreographer, Xian Gao; casting, Anja Phillip, Lena Paaske. Reviewed at Gothenburg Film Festival (Nordic competition), Jan. 31, 2008. (Also in Berlin Film Festival -- Generation 14plus). Running time: 97 MIN.
A Sandrew Metronome release of a Nimbus Film production, in co-production with Angel Film, Filmgear, Nordisk Film Shortcut, Blixt Kamera. (International sales: Delphis Films, Montreal.) Produced by Johnny Andersen. Executive producers, Brigitte Hald, Bo Ehrhardt. Directed by Natasha Arthy. Screenplay, Arthy, Nikolaj Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg.
With Semra Turan, Cyron Melville, Xian Gao, Nima Nabipour, Molly Blixt Egelind, Behruz Banissi, Sadi Tekelioglu, Ozlem Saglanmak.
(Danish, Turkish, English dialogue)
By ALISSA SIMON
The headstrong daughter of conservative Turkish immigrants in Copenhagen tries to meet her uneducated parents' high expectations while remaining true to her private passion -- kung fu -- in "Fighter." Quality teen drama boasts an appealingly feisty heroine and high-energy martial arts action choreographed by Xian Gao ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Fresh spin on cross-cultural romance and coming-of-age plotlines will compel fests to enter the ring. The first Danish action pic to employ international stunt and wire specialists, "Fighter" garnered enthusiastic reviews and healthy box office on Dec. 12 local release. Niche arthouse play, particularly in Europe and Asia, is conceivable.
High school student Aicha (engaging nonpro Semra Turan) is constantly on the run, literally and figuratively. Between familial duties and devotion to her sport, she has little time for schoolwork, and certainly none for a boyfriend. Although her traditional father forbids it, Aicha joins an elite kung fu club run by a strict Chinese sifu (Gao) who secretly admires her spunk. Males and females fight together, making Aicha slightly uncomfortable.
After advanced student Emil (agile heartthrob Cyron Melville) is ordered to practice with Aicha, the two gradually develop deeper feelings. An exhilarating extended montage of them training together, running and across roof tops, features breathtaking wire- and stuntwork.
Meanwhile, Aicha's older brother Ali (Nima Nabipour), a physician, hopes to marry Jasmin (Ozlem Saglanmak), a woman from a higher-status family; they're anxious that Aicha's immodest behavior not jeopardize the wedding. When Omar (Behruz Banissi), a friend of Jasmin's family, joins Aicha's class, the stage is set for disaster until Aicha learns to claim responsibility for her own choices.
Fine fight choreography furthers the emotional and dramatic development of the plot. The intensity of Aicha and Emil's feelings is convincingly portrayed through the physicality of their stylized matches, something more sensual than another awkward teen sex scene.
The graceful young actors, many nonpro with martial-arts experience, lend the story extra credibility. Gao has a commanding presence, despite very little dialogue.
Standout production design and cinematography convey apt visual corollaries for the heroine's lack of private time and space, surrounding her with constantly ticking watches, clocks and alarms. Aicha's recurring nightmare of fighting a masked ninja gets a sleek fantasy look that contrasts with the rest of the pic's grainy urban atmosphere.
Camera (color, 16mm-to-35mm, widescreen), Sebastian Wintero; editor, Kaspar Leick; music, Saqib, Frithjof Toksvig; production designer, Peter de Neergaard; costume designer, Susie Bjornvad; sound (Dolby SR); sound designer, Hans Moller; martial arts choreographer, Xian Gao; casting, Anja Phillip, Lena Paaske. Reviewed at Gothenburg Film Festival (Nordic competition), Jan. 31, 2008. (Also in Berlin Film Festival -- Generation 14plus). Running time: 97 MIN.
Review | The Other Side of Istanbul (2008)
The Other Side of Istanbul
(Documentary -- Germany)
By JAY WEISSBERG
A Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin, Dondu Kilic Filmproduktion production. (International sales: Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin, Berlin.) Produced by Anna de Paoli, Erdem Murat Celikler. Executive producers, Dondu Kilic, Hartmut Bitomsky. Directed by Dondu Kilic. Written by Andreas Hug, Kilic.
With: Mehmet Tarhan, Mustafa Cagrici.
Like much in Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, the gay scene sits uncomfortably between East and West, making it a ripe topic that receives only superficial treatment in Dondu Kilic's well-meaning but formless "The Other Side of Istanbul." Meant to explore the difficulties faced by gay men in Turkish society, docu loads up on pointless scenes offering no insight, while a larger perspective beyond the few subjects interviewed remains either elusive or unaddressed. Pic will work best for auds coming to the material for the first time, though even they'll wonder at the narrow focus.
Part of the frustration derives from the wasted opportunity: Articulate activist Mehmet Tarhan is immersed in the discourse and, along with his supportive Kurdish family, cries out for more screen time. Young Mustafa speaks of machismo and class hierarchy in the gay scene, but more on these key topics, along with the subject of honor killings, would expand docu's limited horizons. Generic shots of the city, plus an overlong wedding sequence, add nothing, while Kilic fails to provide any background on a transsexual demonstration in Bursa. Handheld lensing is standard; arrangement of scenes feels random.
Camera (color, HD), Vojtech Pokorny; editor, Kilic, Mariejosephin Schneider; music, Niclas Ramdohr. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (Panorama Documentaries), Feb. 9, 2008. Original title: Das andere Istanbul. Turkish, English, Dutch dialogue. Running time: 82 MIN.
(Documentary -- Germany)
By JAY WEISSBERG
A Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin, Dondu Kilic Filmproduktion production. (International sales: Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin, Berlin.) Produced by Anna de Paoli, Erdem Murat Celikler. Executive producers, Dondu Kilic, Hartmut Bitomsky. Directed by Dondu Kilic. Written by Andreas Hug, Kilic.
With: Mehmet Tarhan, Mustafa Cagrici.
Like much in Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, the gay scene sits uncomfortably between East and West, making it a ripe topic that receives only superficial treatment in Dondu Kilic's well-meaning but formless "The Other Side of Istanbul." Meant to explore the difficulties faced by gay men in Turkish society, docu loads up on pointless scenes offering no insight, while a larger perspective beyond the few subjects interviewed remains either elusive or unaddressed. Pic will work best for auds coming to the material for the first time, though even they'll wonder at the narrow focus.
Part of the frustration derives from the wasted opportunity: Articulate activist Mehmet Tarhan is immersed in the discourse and, along with his supportive Kurdish family, cries out for more screen time. Young Mustafa speaks of machismo and class hierarchy in the gay scene, but more on these key topics, along with the subject of honor killings, would expand docu's limited horizons. Generic shots of the city, plus an overlong wedding sequence, add nothing, while Kilic fails to provide any background on a transsexual demonstration in Bursa. Handheld lensing is standard; arrangement of scenes feels random.
Camera (color, HD), Vojtech Pokorny; editor, Kilic, Mariejosephin Schneider; music, Niclas Ramdohr. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (Panorama Documentaries), Feb. 9, 2008. Original title: Das andere Istanbul. Turkish, English, Dutch dialogue. Running time: 82 MIN.
Review | The Edge of Heaven
The Edge of Heaven
Bottom Line: Intricate and moving drama about life's struggles and near misses.
By Ray Bennett
May 24, 2007
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
The Match Factory presents a Corazon International Production in co-production with Anka Film in association with NDR and Dorje Film
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Fatih Akin
Producers: Andreas Thiel, Klaus Maeck, Fatih Akin
Director of photography: Rainer Klausmann
Production designers: Tamo Kunz, Sirma Bradley
Music: Shantel
Costume designer: Katrin Aschendorf
Editor: Andrew Bird
Co-producers: Erhan Ozogul, Funda Odemis, Ali Akdeniz
Cast:
Nejat Aksu: Baki Davrak
Yeter Ozturk: Nursel Kose
Susanne Staub: Hanna Schygulla
Ali Aksu: Tungel Kurtiz
Ayten Ozturk: Nurgul Yesilgay
Lotte Staub: Patriycia Ziolkowska
Running time -- 122 minutes
No MPAA rating
CANNES -- Director Fatih Akin continues his insightful exploration of the things that divide and bridge different cultures and generations in his absorbing In Competition film "The Edge of Heaven." Like his 2004 Berlin Golden Bear winner "Head-On," the film deals with Turkish folk living in Germany but this time he brings his story back to Istanbul.
Love was his topic in the earlier film, and now Akin turns his attention to death. It may not be a wise thing to label the major chapters announcing the deaths of key characters, but he tells their stories with flair and compassion. Audiences that responded to "Head-On" will be pleased with "Heaven," and festival and art house prospects look good.
The director, who also wrote the script, achieves a keen-eyed view of the Turkish expatriates in this film while sustaining his remarkable ability to make them universal. His tale is about two families whose fate becomes entwined in ways they don't discover within the time frame of the film.
It starts in Germany with Turkish immigrant Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz), a crusty retired widower whose son Nejat (Baki Davrak) is a successful academic. Uncouth but charismatic, Ali still seeks pleasures of the flesh, which is how he meets Yeter (Nursel Kose), a severely beautiful Turkish woman who works in a brothel. Taken with her charms and pleased to be speaking his native tongue, Ali proposes that he become her sole customer and asks her to move in with him.
Having been threatened by Muslim men who tell her she must give up her way of life, Yeter accepts Ali's offer. Nejat is tolerantly amused by this turn of events but contentment is brief as there is darkness in his father's character that leads to a fatal confrontation.
Meanwhile, Yeter's daughter has gone missing in Istanbul and Nejat tries to find her. On a visit to the city, he falls in love with a German bookshop that is up for sale and, being a professor of the language, he buys it. So now he's a very German Turk back in Turkey.
The film then moves to introduce Yeter's daughter Ayten (Nurgel Yesilgay) who is involved with an underground group in Turkey. When she winds up with a gun in her possession following a street protest, she hides the gun and flees to Germany seeking asylum. There, she meets Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska) and they become lovers to the disapproval of Lotte's mother, Susanne (Hanna Schygulla).
When Ayten's appeal is rejected, she is returned to Turkey and imprisoned for offences against the state. Lotte becomes a German ex-patriot in Turkey, and the very human dilemma is viewed from another angle. Attracted by the German books, Lotte goes to the bookstore and meets Najet, who offers her a room. As she has been warned never to mention Aynet's name, the two never learn that they are seeking the same person. When Lotte visits her lover in jail, Aynet asks her to find the hidden gun and fate takes another turn.
Akin weaves their stories with clarity even as it becomes apparent that he has time-shifted certain scenes, and he makes observant sense about the fragility of human connections. Rainer Klausmann's cinematography captures the contrasting cities of Hamburg and Istanbul vividly. The acting is fine throughout, with Kose and Schygulla especially effective as mothers who see themselves all too clearly in their daughters. It is only late in the film that the German professor sees his father in him and the final scenes speak profoundly of acceptance and forgiveness.
Bottom Line: Intricate and moving drama about life's struggles and near misses.
By Ray Bennett
May 24, 2007
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
The Match Factory presents a Corazon International Production in co-production with Anka Film in association with NDR and Dorje Film
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Fatih Akin
Producers: Andreas Thiel, Klaus Maeck, Fatih Akin
Director of photography: Rainer Klausmann
Production designers: Tamo Kunz, Sirma Bradley
Music: Shantel
Costume designer: Katrin Aschendorf
Editor: Andrew Bird
Co-producers: Erhan Ozogul, Funda Odemis, Ali Akdeniz
Cast:
Nejat Aksu: Baki Davrak
Yeter Ozturk: Nursel Kose
Susanne Staub: Hanna Schygulla
Ali Aksu: Tungel Kurtiz
Ayten Ozturk: Nurgul Yesilgay
Lotte Staub: Patriycia Ziolkowska
Running time -- 122 minutes
No MPAA rating
CANNES -- Director Fatih Akin continues his insightful exploration of the things that divide and bridge different cultures and generations in his absorbing In Competition film "The Edge of Heaven." Like his 2004 Berlin Golden Bear winner "Head-On," the film deals with Turkish folk living in Germany but this time he brings his story back to Istanbul.
Love was his topic in the earlier film, and now Akin turns his attention to death. It may not be a wise thing to label the major chapters announcing the deaths of key characters, but he tells their stories with flair and compassion. Audiences that responded to "Head-On" will be pleased with "Heaven," and festival and art house prospects look good.
The director, who also wrote the script, achieves a keen-eyed view of the Turkish expatriates in this film while sustaining his remarkable ability to make them universal. His tale is about two families whose fate becomes entwined in ways they don't discover within the time frame of the film.
It starts in Germany with Turkish immigrant Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz), a crusty retired widower whose son Nejat (Baki Davrak) is a successful academic. Uncouth but charismatic, Ali still seeks pleasures of the flesh, which is how he meets Yeter (Nursel Kose), a severely beautiful Turkish woman who works in a brothel. Taken with her charms and pleased to be speaking his native tongue, Ali proposes that he become her sole customer and asks her to move in with him.
Having been threatened by Muslim men who tell her she must give up her way of life, Yeter accepts Ali's offer. Nejat is tolerantly amused by this turn of events but contentment is brief as there is darkness in his father's character that leads to a fatal confrontation.
Meanwhile, Yeter's daughter has gone missing in Istanbul and Nejat tries to find her. On a visit to the city, he falls in love with a German bookshop that is up for sale and, being a professor of the language, he buys it. So now he's a very German Turk back in Turkey.
The film then moves to introduce Yeter's daughter Ayten (Nurgel Yesilgay) who is involved with an underground group in Turkey. When she winds up with a gun in her possession following a street protest, she hides the gun and flees to Germany seeking asylum. There, she meets Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska) and they become lovers to the disapproval of Lotte's mother, Susanne (Hanna Schygulla).
When Ayten's appeal is rejected, she is returned to Turkey and imprisoned for offences against the state. Lotte becomes a German ex-patriot in Turkey, and the very human dilemma is viewed from another angle. Attracted by the German books, Lotte goes to the bookstore and meets Najet, who offers her a room. As she has been warned never to mention Aynet's name, the two never learn that they are seeking the same person. When Lotte visits her lover in jail, Aynet asks her to find the hidden gun and fate takes another turn.
Akin weaves their stories with clarity even as it becomes apparent that he has time-shifted certain scenes, and he makes observant sense about the fragility of human connections. Rainer Klausmann's cinematography captures the contrasting cities of Hamburg and Istanbul vividly. The acting is fine throughout, with Kose and Schygulla especially effective as mothers who see themselves all too clearly in their daughters. It is only late in the film that the German professor sees his father in him and the final scenes speak profoundly of acceptance and forgiveness.
Fatih Akin's 'Heaven' tops Germany's Lolas
Fatih Akin's ensemble drama "The Edge of Heaven" took the top Lolas at the 58th German Film Awards [1] Friday, including best pic, director and screenplay, beating favorite "Cherry Blossoms," which won three prizes including the runner-up Silver Lola for pic. "The Edge of Heaven," a Turkish-German production about two deaths that bring strangers together, also picked up a Lola for editing.
Akin's "Auf der anderen Seite" (The Edge of Heaven) is a story of loss, mourning and forgiveness set in both Germany and Turkey [2]. "Danke, danke, danke," said a grateful Akin, a Hamburg-based director of Turkish descent whose hard-hitting films about the struggles and confusion of Turkish immigrants in Germany have won also honors at the Berlin and Cannes film festivals. "It's extraordinarily difficult to measure art in any way," said Akin, 34, whose 2003 film "Gegen die Wand" (Head-On) also drew international accolades. "So I'm delighted. We don't make films for prizes but rather for life," It is the second best film Lola for Akin, whose international breakthrough "Head-On" swept the awards in 2004. This year's victory is particularly sweet, however. Akin has repeatedly butted heads with the German Film Academy, criticizing the way the academy selects its Lola nominees. Hoisting his golden statue Friday night, he made reference to the public spat, addressing star Til Schweiger, who recently resigned from the German academy after his boxoffice smash "Rabbit Without Ears" was snubbed in the Lola nominations."Just watch, Til, we're going to join (the academy) again!" Akin said.
Some 1,500 guests attended the glitzy event, held at Berlin's Palais am Funkturm. Presented by Germany's federal culture ministry, the Lolas are handed out in 15 categories and carry $4.4 million in prizes.
The winners are chosen by the German Film Academy's more than 1,000 members.
Notes
[1] For her latest drama "Cherry Blossoms" about a grieving widower who journeys to Japan, Doris Dorrie was nominated for six Lolas, the German equivalent of the Oscar.Close behind were Fatih Akin's cross-cultural drama "The Edge of Heaven" with five Lola nominations and Christian Petzold's cerebral mystery thriller "Yella" with four.
[2] Turkish migrants in Germany were the key theme of TV productions honored by the Adolf Grimme Institut in 2007. Winner of five Grimme awards in the fiction category was “Wut” (Anger) by German-Turkish helmer Zuli Aladag, about a middle-class family being bullied by a Turkish youth, on ARD. Tackling similar themes from the lighter side, further awards were snatched by series “Tuerkisch fuer Anfanger” (Turkish for Beginners), also on ARD, and telepic “Meine verrueckte tuerkische Hochzeit” (My Crazy Turkish Wedding) on ProSieben.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Review | Summer Book (Tatil Kitabi)
Summer Book (Tatil Kitabi) by Dan Fainaru in Istanbul
Dir:Seyfi Teoman. Turkey , 2008. 92 mins.
Winner of Best Film in the national section at Istanbul, Seyfi Teoman's small-scale but poetic evocation of summer in a small provincial Turkish town will elicit a warm response both from festival programmers and Turkish communities abroad. The quiet, peaceful beauty of its landscape and its authentic-seeming characters will reward the patient viewer of this laid-back portrait of family life in Silifke, a town close enough to the Mediterranean to benefit from its weather but not enough to be a tourist attraction.
But Teoman's understated tone, sparse dialogue and detached point of view would seem to restrict Summer Book, which also played at Berlin, from breaking out much further than this limited audience.
Spread over the period of one summer holiday and seen mostly, but not exclusively, through the eyes of 10-year-old Ali (Gunay), Summer Book starts on the last day of the school year and ends with the first day of the new term. In between, it covers not only Ali's conflicts with boys of his own age and his early encounters with the grown-up world around him, but also his older brother Veysel's (Ozuag) desire to leave his military boarding school and move to an open university in Istanbul and their mother Guler's (Tokun) suspicions that her husband has a mistress.
Towering above them is Ali's father/husband Mustafa (Inan), who runs his business and his family with an iron fist. And in the shadows, his uncle Hasan (Birsel), once an aspiring business man, now the town's butcher, who has to take over when Mustafa suffers an unexpected stroke and is immobilized in a hospital.
And that's about it. While this may seem thin for a full-length feature, surprisingly it works. Teoman imposes on his film the rhythm of life itself in places like Silifke. The audience is left to figure out quite a few issues, including the truth about Mustafa's illicit relationship - which is an issue for a while and then is dwarfed by other events. Numerous details are unobtrusively sneaked in, such as the family's constant money worries, their respect for religion, the routine of their lives and how power plays out within the family.
Catalan cameraman Arnau Valls Colomer, who worked with Teoman on his short Apartment, does a great job using natural light. The decision to work most of the time in long shots also successfully integrates the characters into the landscape. With one exception (Birsel), the cast has had no previous experience, which adds to the immediacy of the picture as a whole, as no one seems to be acting.
Production companies :Bulut Film
Worldwide distribution :Wide Management + (33) (1) 5395 0465
Producers :Yamac Okur ,Nadir Operli ,
Screenplay :Seyfi Teoman
Director of photography :Arnau Valls Colomer
Production designer :Nadide Argun
Editor :Cicek Kahraman
Sound :Theron Patterson
Main cast: Taner Birsel ,Ayten Tokun ,Osman Inan ,Harun Ozuak,Tayfun Gunay
Dir:Seyfi Teoman. Turkey , 2008. 92 mins.
Winner of Best Film in the national section at Istanbul, Seyfi Teoman's small-scale but poetic evocation of summer in a small provincial Turkish town will elicit a warm response both from festival programmers and Turkish communities abroad. The quiet, peaceful beauty of its landscape and its authentic-seeming characters will reward the patient viewer of this laid-back portrait of family life in Silifke, a town close enough to the Mediterranean to benefit from its weather but not enough to be a tourist attraction.
But Teoman's understated tone, sparse dialogue and detached point of view would seem to restrict Summer Book, which also played at Berlin, from breaking out much further than this limited audience.
Spread over the period of one summer holiday and seen mostly, but not exclusively, through the eyes of 10-year-old Ali (Gunay), Summer Book starts on the last day of the school year and ends with the first day of the new term. In between, it covers not only Ali's conflicts with boys of his own age and his early encounters with the grown-up world around him, but also his older brother Veysel's (Ozuag) desire to leave his military boarding school and move to an open university in Istanbul and their mother Guler's (Tokun) suspicions that her husband has a mistress.
Towering above them is Ali's father/husband Mustafa (Inan), who runs his business and his family with an iron fist. And in the shadows, his uncle Hasan (Birsel), once an aspiring business man, now the town's butcher, who has to take over when Mustafa suffers an unexpected stroke and is immobilized in a hospital.
And that's about it. While this may seem thin for a full-length feature, surprisingly it works. Teoman imposes on his film the rhythm of life itself in places like Silifke. The audience is left to figure out quite a few issues, including the truth about Mustafa's illicit relationship - which is an issue for a while and then is dwarfed by other events. Numerous details are unobtrusively sneaked in, such as the family's constant money worries, their respect for religion, the routine of their lives and how power plays out within the family.
Catalan cameraman Arnau Valls Colomer, who worked with Teoman on his short Apartment, does a great job using natural light. The decision to work most of the time in long shots also successfully integrates the characters into the landscape. With one exception (Birsel), the cast has had no previous experience, which adds to the immediacy of the picture as a whole, as no one seems to be acting.
Production companies :Bulut Film
Worldwide distribution :Wide Management + (33) (1) 5395 0465
Producers :Yamac Okur ,Nadir Operli ,
Screenplay :Seyfi Teoman
Director of photography :Arnau Valls Colomer
Production designer :Nadide Argun
Editor :Cicek Kahraman
Sound :Theron Patterson
Main cast: Taner Birsel ,Ayten Tokun ,Osman Inan ,Harun Ozuak,Tayfun Gunay
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Fatih Akin to Un Certain Regard Jury Duty
61e FESTIVAL DE CANNES
du 14 au 25 mai
Jury Un Certain Regard
Fatih AKIN, Président
(Réalisateur allemand)
du 14 au 25 mai
Jury Un Certain Regard
Fatih AKIN, Président
(Réalisateur allemand)
2008 |Three Monkeys/Uc Maymun by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Three Monkeys/Uc Maymun [1] 2008 Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria [2]
109 min.
ÜÇ MAYMUN FR: (Les Trois singes)
Directed by: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
NBC Film Production
Screenplay by: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ercan Kesal
Cast: Yavuz Bingöl, Hatice Aslan ve Ercan Kesal
Synopsys: The story revolves around the family of a businesman's driver.
[1] Named "Hayaller" originally during the shooting.
[2] Eurimages supports 11 European co-productions including Hayaller - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)(Turkey, France, Italy) 235 000 Euros and Hayat Var - Reha Erdem (Turkey)(Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria) 200 000 Euros
STRASBOURG, 19.07.2007 -- At its 107th meeting held from 14 to 16 October 2007 in Alicante, the Board of Management of the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund agreed to support 11 feature films for a total amount of 4 380 000 Euros
109 min.
ÜÇ MAYMUN FR: (Les Trois singes)
Directed by: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
NBC Film Production
Screenplay by: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ercan Kesal
Cast: Yavuz Bingöl, Hatice Aslan ve Ercan Kesal
Synopsys: The story revolves around the family of a businesman's driver.
[1] Named "Hayaller" originally during the shooting.
[2] Eurimages supports 11 European co-productions including Hayaller - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)(Turkey, France, Italy) 235 000 Euros and Hayat Var - Reha Erdem (Turkey)(Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria) 200 000 Euros
STRASBOURG, 19.07.2007 -- At its 107th meeting held from 14 to 16 October 2007 in Alicante, the Board of Management of the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund agreed to support 11 feature films for a total amount of 4 380 000 Euros
Nuri Bilge Ceylan sends Three Monkeys to Festival de Cannes
The poster of the Festival de Cannes 2008 is a photograph by David Lynch, adapted by Pierre Collier, a cinema poster artist.
When a final 20th film from France is announced in the coming days, the countdown per continent will be Asia (3), Europe (7), Latin America (3), the United States (3), and a film each from Israel, Canada and Turkey.
The list of 19 films competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or award. A 20th film from France is to be announced in the next few days.
"Uc Maymun" (The Three Monkeys) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)
"Le Silence De Lorna" (The Silence of Lorna) by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium)
"Un Conte de Noel" (A Christmas Tale) by Arnaud Desplechin (France)
"Changeling" by Clint Eastwood (United States)
"Adoration" by Atom Egoyan (Canada)
"Waltz With Bashir" by Ari Folman (Israel)
"La Frontiere De l'Aube" (The Frontier Of Dawn) by Philippe Garrel (France)
"Gomorra" by Matteo Garrone (Italy)
"24 City" by Jia Zhangke (China)
"Synecdoche, New York" by Charlie Kaufman (United States)
"My Magic" by Eric Khoo (Singapore)
"La Mujer Sin Cabeza" (Woman Without A Head) by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)
"Serbis" by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)
"Delta" by Kornel Mundruczo (Hungary)
"Linha de Passe" (Line of Passage) by Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas (Brazil)
"Che" by Steven Soderbergh (United States)
"Il Divo" by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
"Leonera" by Pablo Trapero (Argentina)
"The Palermo Shooting" by Wim Wenders (Germany)
Out of competition:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" by Woody Allen (United States)
"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" by Kim Jee-Woon (South Korea)
"Kung Fu Panda" by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (United States)
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" by Steven Spielberg (United States)
Feature Film Jury
Sean PENN, President
(American actor, director, screenwriter)
Sergio CASTELLITTO (Italian actor, director, screenwriter)
Natalie PORTMAN (Israeli-American actress)
Alfonso CUARON (Mexican director)
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thai director)
Alexandra Maria LARA (German actress)
Rachid BOUCHAREB (French director)
A mix of old and new, of Hollywood glitz and auteur fare, has proven a recipe for success as the film industry's biggest annual festival gearing up for its 61st edition from May 14 to May 25.
After viewing 1,792 films from 96 countries, organisers selected 19 movies to compete for the prestigious Palme d'Or that winds up the yearly 12-day extravaganza of showbiz parties, red-carpet screenings and wheeling and dealing.
After viewing 1,792 films from 96 countries, organisers selected 19 movies to compete for the prestigious Palme d'Or that winds up the yearly 12-day extravaganza of showbiz parties, red-carpet screenings and wheeling and dealing.
When a final 20th film from France is announced in the coming days, the countdown per continent will be Asia (3), Europe (7), Latin America (3), the United States (3), and a film each from Israel, Canada and Turkey.
The list of 19 films competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or award. A 20th film from France is to be announced in the next few days.
"Uc Maymun" (The Three Monkeys) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)
"Le Silence De Lorna" (The Silence of Lorna) by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium)
"Un Conte de Noel" (A Christmas Tale) by Arnaud Desplechin (France)
"Changeling" by Clint Eastwood (United States)
"Adoration" by Atom Egoyan (Canada)
"Waltz With Bashir" by Ari Folman (Israel)
"La Frontiere De l'Aube" (The Frontier Of Dawn) by Philippe Garrel (France)
"Gomorra" by Matteo Garrone (Italy)
"24 City" by Jia Zhangke (China)
"Synecdoche, New York" by Charlie Kaufman (United States)
"My Magic" by Eric Khoo (Singapore)
"La Mujer Sin Cabeza" (Woman Without A Head) by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)
"Serbis" by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)
"Delta" by Kornel Mundruczo (Hungary)
"Linha de Passe" (Line of Passage) by Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas (Brazil)
"Che" by Steven Soderbergh (United States)
"Il Divo" by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
"Leonera" by Pablo Trapero (Argentina)
"The Palermo Shooting" by Wim Wenders (Germany)
Out of competition:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" by Woody Allen (United States)
"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" by Kim Jee-Woon (South Korea)
"Kung Fu Panda" by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (United States)
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" by Steven Spielberg (United States)
Feature Film Jury
Sean PENN, President
(American actor, director, screenwriter)
Sergio CASTELLITTO (Italian actor, director, screenwriter)
Natalie PORTMAN (Israeli-American actress)
Alfonso CUARON (Mexican director)
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thai director)
Alexandra Maria LARA (German actress)
Rachid BOUCHAREB (French director)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Awards | 27th International Istanbul Film Festival
INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN TULIP COMPETITION
The International Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Michael Ballhaus and composed of Joan Dupont, Selim Eyüboğlu; Bent Hamer, Pawel Pawlikowski, and Kirsi Tykkilainen has decided to give:
The GOLDEN TULIP Award to "EGG"directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey), "for its poetic and subtle portrayal of a man adrift in a modern world, who, forced by circumstances, returns to his native village to find meaning and the possibility of love."
The SPECIAL PRIZE of the Jury to "THE WAVE" directed by Dennis Gansel (Germany) "for the powerful and gripping way in which it shows how our need for purpose and community can be manipulated to disastrous effect."
NATIONAL COMPETITION
The National Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Semih Kaplanoğlu, and composed of Sylvain Auzou, Pınar Kür, Michèle Maheux and Nurgül Yeşilçay has decided to give:
the BEST TURKISH FILM OF THE YEAR Award to "TATİL KİTABI / SUMMER BOOK"directed by Seyfi Teoman "for being a first film that conveys hope, tackling the theme of innocence with a cinematographic narrative and a humane approach";
the BEST DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Award to DERVİŞ ZAİM for his film "NOKTA / DOT" for plainly translating a largely forgotten traditional art to the cinematic language with a masterful aesthetic, and for creating a powerful impact".
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 50,000 YTL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the BEST ACTRESS Award to AYÇA DAMGACI for her performance in "Gitmek / My Marlon and Brando";
the BEST ACTOR Award to SERHAT TUTUMLUER for his performance in "Ara".
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 10,000 YTL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE JURY to "Ara"by Ümit Ünal for "strikingly tackling subjects that are still considered taboo in today's society within the context of interpersonal relationships by delving deep into its characters' personalities through masterful dialogues."
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE FILM AWARD, "FACE"
The FACE Award (Council of Europe Film Award) is presented to the director of a film that arises public awareness and interest in human rights issues, creates better understanding of their importance, and best reflects the Council's values of respect for human rights, individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law. The award includes a sculpture in bronze and a cash prize of Euro 10,000. It is awarded as part of the Human Rights in Cinema section of the festival. The Human Rights Jury of the 27th International İstanbul Film Festival is composed of Nurdan Arca, Philippe Boillat, Tony Gatlif, Abderrahmane Sissako and Jan Vandierendonck decided to give the award to:
"BLIND MOUNTAIN" by Li Yang (China) for "for its powerful message against all violence, no matter its form to women all over the world, because this message is both universal and timeless."
FIPRESCI AWARDS
The FIPRESCI Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Kirill Razlogov and composed of Necla Algan, Madhu Eravankara, Burak Göral, Gyözö Matyas and André Waardenburg gave:
The FIPRESCI Award in the International Competition to "BEN X"by NIC BALTHAZAR (Belgium), for "the powerful cinematic expression of agony and ecstasy of a teenager suffering from autism."
The FIPRESCI Award in the National Competition, in memory of Onat Kutlar, to "TATİL KİTABI / SUMMER BOOK"directed by Seyfi Teoman, for "a sensitive and cinematically pure image of painful life experiences through a child's eyes and feelings."
As in the previous years, Efes Pilsen has given a prize of US$ 30.000 to the winner of the Onat Kutlar Prize, Seyfi Teoman, to be used for his next film project.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS sponsored by the Radikal Newspaper and determined by the votes of the Festival audience, are given to:
"YUMURTA / EGG"by Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey) in the International Competition, and "ULAK / THE MESSENGER"by Çağan Irmak in the National Competition.
MEETINGS ON THE BRIDGE FEATURE FILM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP AWARD
Organised for the first time within the Meetings on the Bridge series of seminars, the Feature Film Project Development Workshop Award was given to Belma Baş for her project "ZEFİR / ZEPHYR". Thirteen projects remained from the 113 applications after the pre-selection by Zeynep Özbatur, Fatih Özgüven and Derviş Zaim. From among these 13 projects, Karl Baumgartner, Gergana Dakovska, Ellis Driessen, Marit van den Elshout, Isabelle Fauvel, Noemi Ferrer, Chinlin Hsieh, Michel Reilhac, Jan Vandierendonck selected "ZEPHYR". The winning project will also be presented a monetary award of US$10.000 with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
The International Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Michael Ballhaus and composed of Joan Dupont, Selim Eyüboğlu; Bent Hamer, Pawel Pawlikowski, and Kirsi Tykkilainen has decided to give:
The GOLDEN TULIP Award to "EGG"directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey), "for its poetic and subtle portrayal of a man adrift in a modern world, who, forced by circumstances, returns to his native village to find meaning and the possibility of love."
The SPECIAL PRIZE of the Jury to "THE WAVE" directed by Dennis Gansel (Germany) "for the powerful and gripping way in which it shows how our need for purpose and community can be manipulated to disastrous effect."
NATIONAL COMPETITION
The National Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Semih Kaplanoğlu, and composed of Sylvain Auzou, Pınar Kür, Michèle Maheux and Nurgül Yeşilçay has decided to give:
the BEST TURKISH FILM OF THE YEAR Award to "TATİL KİTABI / SUMMER BOOK"directed by Seyfi Teoman "for being a first film that conveys hope, tackling the theme of innocence with a cinematographic narrative and a humane approach";
the BEST DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Award to DERVİŞ ZAİM for his film "NOKTA / DOT" for plainly translating a largely forgotten traditional art to the cinematic language with a masterful aesthetic, and for creating a powerful impact".
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 50,000 YTL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the BEST ACTRESS Award to AYÇA DAMGACI for her performance in "Gitmek / My Marlon and Brando";
the BEST ACTOR Award to SERHAT TUTUMLUER for his performance in "Ara".
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 10,000 YTL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE JURY to "Ara"by Ümit Ünal for "strikingly tackling subjects that are still considered taboo in today's society within the context of interpersonal relationships by delving deep into its characters' personalities through masterful dialogues."
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE FILM AWARD, "FACE"
The FACE Award (Council of Europe Film Award) is presented to the director of a film that arises public awareness and interest in human rights issues, creates better understanding of their importance, and best reflects the Council's values of respect for human rights, individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law. The award includes a sculpture in bronze and a cash prize of Euro 10,000. It is awarded as part of the Human Rights in Cinema section of the festival. The Human Rights Jury of the 27th International İstanbul Film Festival is composed of Nurdan Arca, Philippe Boillat, Tony Gatlif, Abderrahmane Sissako and Jan Vandierendonck decided to give the award to:
"BLIND MOUNTAIN" by Li Yang (China) for "for its powerful message against all violence, no matter its form to women all over the world, because this message is both universal and timeless."
FIPRESCI AWARDS
The FIPRESCI Jury of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by Kirill Razlogov and composed of Necla Algan, Madhu Eravankara, Burak Göral, Gyözö Matyas and André Waardenburg gave:
The FIPRESCI Award in the International Competition to "BEN X"by NIC BALTHAZAR (Belgium), for "the powerful cinematic expression of agony and ecstasy of a teenager suffering from autism."
The FIPRESCI Award in the National Competition, in memory of Onat Kutlar, to "TATİL KİTABI / SUMMER BOOK"directed by Seyfi Teoman, for "a sensitive and cinematically pure image of painful life experiences through a child's eyes and feelings."
As in the previous years, Efes Pilsen has given a prize of US$ 30.000 to the winner of the Onat Kutlar Prize, Seyfi Teoman, to be used for his next film project.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS sponsored by the Radikal Newspaper and determined by the votes of the Festival audience, are given to:
"YUMURTA / EGG"by Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey) in the International Competition, and "ULAK / THE MESSENGER"by Çağan Irmak in the National Competition.
MEETINGS ON THE BRIDGE FEATURE FILM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP AWARD
Organised for the first time within the Meetings on the Bridge series of seminars, the Feature Film Project Development Workshop Award was given to Belma Baş for her project "ZEFİR / ZEPHYR". Thirteen projects remained from the 113 applications after the pre-selection by Zeynep Özbatur, Fatih Özgüven and Derviş Zaim. From among these 13 projects, Karl Baumgartner, Gergana Dakovska, Ellis Driessen, Marit van den Elshout, Isabelle Fauvel, Noemi Ferrer, Chinlin Hsieh, Michel Reilhac, Jan Vandierendonck selected "ZEPHYR". The winning project will also be presented a monetary award of US$10.000 with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
White Angel wins two awards at 41st WorldFest
Mahsun Kirmizigul's film "Beyaz Melek" (White Angel) that represented Turkey at the 41st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in the U.S., where it was awarded best foreign film and the jury’s special award for the best director.
Starring actors including Yildiz Kenter, Arif Erkin, Erol Gunaydin and Gazanfer Ozcan, the film follows an old man who invites his nursing home friends to experience the kindness his village offers for the elderly.
WorldFest traces its actual beginnings to August 1961, when it began screening foreign & art films as Cinema Arts, an international film society. It became a competitive international film festival seven years later, in April 1968, and has been in continuous operation ever since. It is one of the original three film festivals in North America, with San Francisco and New York as the first two venues. Now there are over 900 USA film festivals of various levels and quality, most being non-competitive screening events! It is perhaps the longest-running film festival in the world operating under the same director.
Starring actors including Yildiz Kenter, Arif Erkin, Erol Gunaydin and Gazanfer Ozcan, the film follows an old man who invites his nursing home friends to experience the kindness his village offers for the elderly.
WorldFest traces its actual beginnings to August 1961, when it began screening foreign & art films as Cinema Arts, an international film society. It became a competitive international film festival seven years later, in April 1968, and has been in continuous operation ever since. It is one of the original three film festivals in North America, with San Francisco and New York as the first two venues. Now there are over 900 USA film festivals of various levels and quality, most being non-competitive screening events! It is perhaps the longest-running film festival in the world operating under the same director.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Cinema Honorary Awards to Bora, Günay and Hun
Cinema Honorary Awards were presented at the opening ceremony of the 27th International İstanbul Film Festival .
Cinema Honorary Awards which are annually given to those artists who contributed significantly to the development of Turkish Cinema are presented this year to:
Ekrem Bora, a star, who has acted in the gamut of roles in the Yeşilçam spectrum, from baby-faced movie hunk to strong-featured authoritarian patriarch. From Metin Erksan's masterpiece "Acı Hayat" ("Bitter Life") (1963), Atıf Yılmaz' "Pembe Kadın" ("Pink Lady"), to Ülkü Erakalın's many films including "Gözleri Ömre Bedel" ("Eyes Worth a Life"), Ekrem Bora has become one of the unforgettable figures of Yeşilçam.
İzzet Günay played in many movies which are seen among classics of Yeşilçam for both their plots and acting. All made Izzet Günay forever imprinted on the audiences' memory. His characters who don't run from a fight and stick with the just, the Ottoman male who is street-savvy but has a soft heart and knows how to love, all contributed into making him one of the unforgettable faces of Yeşilçam.
Ediz Hun is the actor most associated with Yeşilçam's romantic young male stars. His name was the first to come to mind in classical Yeşilçam melodramas. Some of his memorable roles were Kenan in the Orhan Aksoy adaptation of Kerime Nadir's "Hıçkırık" ("Sigh"), Şevket in Memduh Ün's adaptation of Reşat Nuri's "Yaprak Dökümü" ("Falling Leaves") and Peregrini in Mehmet Dinler's adaptation of Halide Edip's "Sinekli Bakkal" ("The Clown and His Daughter").
Cinema Honorary Awards which are annually given to those artists who contributed significantly to the development of Turkish Cinema are presented this year to:
Ekrem Bora, a star, who has acted in the gamut of roles in the Yeşilçam spectrum, from baby-faced movie hunk to strong-featured authoritarian patriarch. From Metin Erksan's masterpiece "Acı Hayat" ("Bitter Life") (1963), Atıf Yılmaz' "Pembe Kadın" ("Pink Lady"), to Ülkü Erakalın's many films including "Gözleri Ömre Bedel" ("Eyes Worth a Life"), Ekrem Bora has become one of the unforgettable figures of Yeşilçam.
İzzet Günay played in many movies which are seen among classics of Yeşilçam for both their plots and acting. All made Izzet Günay forever imprinted on the audiences' memory. His characters who don't run from a fight and stick with the just, the Ottoman male who is street-savvy but has a soft heart and knows how to love, all contributed into making him one of the unforgettable faces of Yeşilçam.
Ediz Hun is the actor most associated with Yeşilçam's romantic young male stars. His name was the first to come to mind in classical Yeşilçam melodramas. Some of his memorable roles were Kenan in the Orhan Aksoy adaptation of Kerime Nadir's "Hıçkırık" ("Sigh"), Şevket in Memduh Ün's adaptation of Reşat Nuri's "Yaprak Dökümü" ("Falling Leaves") and Peregrini in Mehmet Dinler's adaptation of Halide Edip's "Sinekli Bakkal" ("The Clown and His Daughter").
27th International İstanbul Film Festival takes Start
The eagerly awaited 27th International İstanbul Film Festival has started with the opening gala held at the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre on the evening of April, 4th.
Acknowledgement plaques were given to the Festival Sponsor, AKBANK; the theme sponsors, TEKNOSA, BAŞAK GROUPAMA, COLINS, DIGITURK, SABAH NEWSPAPER, NTV and EFES PILSEN.
27th International İstanbul Film Festival also welcomed Claudia Cardinale, a dazzling icon of Italian cinema, forever embedded in our memories with both her beauty and talent. Cardinale received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Festival. Luchino Visconti's 1963 masterpiece starring Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon will also be screened at the İstanbul Film Festival with the presence of the actress.
The opening ceremony of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival took start with the opening speech of Şakir Eczacıbaşı, the Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Foundation foe Culture and Arts, the organising institution of the festival.
After the opening ceremony, the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival started with the screening of the Lebanese film "Sukkar Banat / Caramel" in the presence of the director and lead actress of the film, Nadine Labaki.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The 6th Turkish Films Week in Berlin
Turkish films to be screened in Berlin
The 6th Turkish Films Week will take start in Berlin next week. Documentaries and short films will also be presented during Turkish Films Week which will end on April 12th.
The 6th Turkish Films Week is organized by "Theatre Aktuel Berlin" association under the auspices of Berlin State Prime Minister Klaus Wowereit. "Mutluluk" (Happiness), directed by Abdullah Oguz, will be the first film that will be screened at the opening of the week on Thursday evening.
"Mavi Gozlu Dev" (Blue eyed Giant), "Yasamın Kiyisinda" (The Edge of Heaven), "Yumurta" (Egg), "Hazan Mevsimi" (Autumn), "Fikret Bey", "Bayrampasa", "Munferit" (Individual), "Hicran Sokagi" (Sadness street), "Meine Mutter, mein Bruder und ich" (My Mother, My Brother and I), "Riza", "Ademin Trenleri" (Adem's Trains), "Kader" (Destiny), and "Iyi seneler Londra" (Happy New Year London) are the other films that will be screened on three separate theatres.
The 6th Turkish Films Week will take start in Berlin next week. Documentaries and short films will also be presented during Turkish Films Week which will end on April 12th.
The 6th Turkish Films Week is organized by "Theatre Aktuel Berlin" association under the auspices of Berlin State Prime Minister Klaus Wowereit. "Mutluluk" (Happiness), directed by Abdullah Oguz, will be the first film that will be screened at the opening of the week on Thursday evening.
"Mavi Gozlu Dev" (Blue eyed Giant), "Yasamın Kiyisinda" (The Edge of Heaven), "Yumurta" (Egg), "Hazan Mevsimi" (Autumn), "Fikret Bey", "Bayrampasa", "Munferit" (Individual), "Hicran Sokagi" (Sadness street), "Meine Mutter, mein Bruder und ich" (My Mother, My Brother and I), "Riza", "Ademin Trenleri" (Adem's Trains), "Kader" (Destiny), and "Iyi seneler Londra" (Happy New Year London) are the other films that will be screened on three separate theatres.
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