TIFF 2011 | Once Upon A Time in Anatolia

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia | Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

What appears to be on the surface a police procedural film is anything but in Ceylan's hands. As the confessed killer tries to lead the authorities to the place where he buried the body, a series of clues are laid as to what has actually happened.

PROGRAMMER'S NOTE

Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan has made a film that demands great patience, but that patience is magnificently rewarded as the narrative moves toward its conclu­sion. Although the title is a nod to Sergio Leone, Ceylan is very much his own man, determined to create a mythology around a subject that defines an era and a country.

The plot follows the outline of a routine police procedural, but as one would expect from this distinctive filmmaker, Once Upon A Time in Anatolia is far from routine.

A murder has been committed and a man has confessed; all that remains is for him to lead police to the body so they can wrap the case. In the dead of night, two cars and a Jeep carrying the murderer, the police chief and the prosecutor set out to find the burial spot. As the small convoy inches its way through the darkness of the deserted countryside, it becomes clear that the killer can’t locate the place where he left his victim. Cigarettes are smoked; conversations occur and refresh­ments are served in a local village; nothing significant seems to happen. Yet whether we are aware of it or not, small clues are being planted along the way.

Like a game of chess, the grand design of this subtle and disturbing film comes increasingly into focus as events progress. Things are not always as they appear to be, and in Kafka-like gestures, people, emo­tions and events are developed in different and deeper ways. Once Upon A Time in Anatolia is ambiguous enough that we must concentrate on all the details of the canvas before the full story becomes apparent — or does it? A number of doors open teasingly, creating a labyrinthine world that mirrors our present incomprehension at so many contemporary events. What is truth and how we find it are some of the questions Ceylan raises in this superior exploration of a crime and its investigation.
Piers Handling

DIRECTOR'S BIO
Nuri Bilge Ceylan was born in Istanbul. He studied cinema at Mimar Sinan University. His films include The Small Town (98), Clouds of May (00), Distant (03), which won the Grand Prix as well as the prize for best actor for its two male leads at the Cannes Film Festival, Climates (06), Three Monkeys (08) and Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (11).

Country:Turkey/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Year:2011
Language:Turkish
Runtime:157 minutes
Format: 35mm
Producer:Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan; Production Company:Zeynofilm
Principal Cast: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan,Taner Birsel, A. Mumtaz Taylan,Ercan Kesal
Screenplay:Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cinematographer:Gokhan Tiryaki
Editor:Bora Goksingol, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Sound:Thomas Robert
US Distributor: The Cinema Guild 115 West 30th Street, Suite 800 · New York, NY 10001
Phone: (800) 723-5522 · Fax: (212) 685-4717 · email: info@cinemaguild.com
International Sales Agent:Zeynofilm

MWFF 2011 | SHADOWS AND FACES

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011SHADOWS AND FACES | GOLGELER VE SURETLER
Turkey
Out of Competition 2010 / Colour / 116 min

Director : Dervis Zaim Script : Dervis Zaim
Photography : Emre Erkmen Editor : Aylin Zoi
Cast : Hazar Erguçlu, Osman Alkas, Popi Avraam, Settar Tanriogen, Bugra Gulsoy, Erol Refikoglu, Constantinos Gavriel, Pandelis Antonas, Ahmet Karabiber

SHADOWS AND FACES
Cyprus, 1963. The government has just recently declared its independence, but the two major ethnic groups on the island cannot come to an agreement about how the country will be governed. The Turks and the Greeks had seemed to get along, but this changes with the uprising of anarchist groups on both sides. In a small village where Turks and Greeks had been living peacefully, Salih, a Karagoz shadow play master and his daughter Ruhsar, driven from their home by the Greek police, go to their relative Veli in the next village, looking for a shelter. Veli, the elder statesman of the Turkish community there, believes he can appease the mounting tension between Greeks and Turks by keeping a low profile, and he is supported by his Greek neighbour, the local innkeeper, Anna, who tries to calm down her own people, most particularly her hot-headed son, Thanassis. The latter sees a few guns being dug up by young Turks in Veli's garden, then the Greek police bring in a whole load of weapons which they plant in Anna's house despite her protests. The Turks notice and start training in secret with their antiquated rifles, with Veli losing control over the young Turks who believe they should be the first to attack before it is too late. The Greeks retaliate, the violence escalates and many Turks are driven from their villages. When Ruhsar loses her father, she gets occasional help from his Anna, but she cannot help but become apprehensive about a woman who represents the oppression that is enveloping her...

Dervis Zaim
Born in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1964, Dervis Zaim graduated from Warwick University in England and studied film production in London. In 1995, his first novel, Ares in Wonderland, won the prestigious Yunus Nadi literary prize in Turkey. A year later he made an auspicious debut as a director with SOMERSAULT IN A COFFIN. Among his other films: ELEPHANTS AND GRASS (2000), MUD (2003), WAITING FOR HEAVEN (2006) and DOT (2008), shown at the Montreal World Film Festival.

MWFF 2011 | PRESS

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011PRESS
Turkey
Focus on World Cinema2010 / Colour / 100 min


Production company : Sedat Yilmaz, Karincalar Film Yapim, Firuzaga Mah. Sungu Sok., Sungu, # 1, Cighangir Beyoglu, 34425
Director : Sedat Yilmaz Script : Sedat Yilmaz
Photography : Demir Gokdemir Editor : Sedat Yilmaz
Cast : Aram Dildar, Engin Emre Deger, Kadim Yasar, Sezgin Cengiz, Tayfur Aydin, Asiye Dincsoy


PRESS
In the early 1990s, when the armed conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish goverment was at its height, a group of journalists at "Free Agenda". a leftwing publication in Diyarbakir, struggle to report the infingements of human rights in Turkey and, in particular, the Kurdish areas. As government pressure increases, the young staff fights not only to publish but simply to survive. Some of them are kidnapped and threatened, some are killed out on the streets, and their offices are broken into and ravaged by the police. Journalism is no longer a profession, it is a matter of life and death.

Sedat Yilmaz
Born in Malayata, Turkey in 1972, Sedat Yilmaz studied computer science then switched to cinema at Marmara University. In 2003 he co-founded Karincalar, a film production house, for which he made commercials, educational films, videos and documentaries. His directorial credits include The Seventieth Day (2000) and Handcuffs (2002). PRESS is his first feature.

MWFF 2011 | THE SON

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011THE SON | OGUL

Turkey
Focus on World Cinema2011 / Colour / 97 min

Director : Attila Cengiz Script : Attila Cengiz
Photography : Baybars Tekin Editor : Recep Ergun
Cast : Riza Akin, Sahin Erguney, Enes Atis, Nurinisa Yildirim, Gokhan Atalay, Kuvvet Yurdakul, Duygu Yetis

THE SON
Soner, a naive 18-year-old, leaves his hometown, Giresun, on the Black Sea coast, to travel inland to Tunceli. The girl he loves is working there gathering hazelnuts. This is the first time he is venturing outside his hometown. His bus is stopped by soldiers in the mountains. Soner is questioned, and advised not to continue to Tunceli. Abandoned at a crossroads, he is told to return home. But Soner is determined; he gets a lift on a truck carrying workers. The truck is involved in an accident and Soner's path crosses that of Musa, a man whose son is a guerrilla. Musa is warned by the soldiers: they will hold him accountable if his son does not return from the mountains together with the nut gatherers in a couple of days...

Attila Cengiz
Born in Turkey in 1975, Atilla Cengiz has worked extensively in Turkish television, directing several series. Among them: Ezo Gelin (2006), Love Again (2007), Apartment Life (2007), Windfall (2008), Visions of Cappadocia (2009) and Five to Life Kala (2011).

MWFF 2011 | HAYDE BRE

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011HAYDE BRE
Turkey
Focus on World Cinema2011 / Colour / 115 min


Production company : Yasemin Kuçukçavdar Guler, Kardes Sanatlar Film Produksiyon, Bakrac Sok. Nº 6/6, Cihangir, Istanbul
Director : Orhan Oguz Script : Orhan Oguz
Photography : Adnan Guler Editor : Murat Bor
Cast : Sevket Emrulla, Nilufer Açikalin, Ilker Inanoglu, Mustafa Yasar, Perihan Ahmeti, Suzan Kardes, Ayberk Koçar


HAYDE BRE
Sabanaga lives in a small Macedonian village with his wife and friends while his stepdaughter Saadet lives in Istanbul with her three children and invalid husband whom she has to take care of. The lives of Sabanaga and Saadet intersect unexpectedly after Saadet returns to the village for her son's circumcision ceremony. When his wife dies, Sabanaga accepts Saadet's invitation to move to Istanbul, but it soon becomes apparent to him that big city life is intimidating and alien to him. It has rules that he can't get used to and he feels like a captive. Sabanaga longs to return to the smalltown life he remembers so fondly. Or thinks he remembers. Does that life still exist?

Orhan Oguz
Born in Kirklareli, Turkey in 1948, Orhan Oguz came to the cinema via a childhood interest in photography and painting. He apprenticed as an assistant director at 16, then began directing his own shorts and worked as a cinematographer for many established directors before making his own feature debut in 1987 with HERSEYE RAGMEN. Among his other films: UCUNCU GOZ (1989), IKI BASLI DEV (1991), SARA (1999), KARA KENTIN COCUKLARI (2000), DARK SPELLS (2004), AURA (2007).

MWFF 2011 | MERRY-GO-ROUND

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011MERRY-GO-ROUND | ATLIKARINCA
Turkey
Focus on World Cinema2010 / Colour / 93 min

Director : Ilksen Basarir Script : Ilksen Basarir, Mert Firat
Photography : Hayk Kirakosyan Editor : Erkan Ozekan
Cast : Mert Firat, Nergis Ozturk, Zeynep Oral, Sema Çeyrekbasi, Sercan Badur


MERRY-GO-ROUND
Erdem, Sevil and their children Edip and Sevgi live in a small town. Their lives begin to change when they have to move to Istanbul because Sevil's mother has had a stroke. Ten years pass and by this time Edip is at a boarding school away from the family and Erdem is still pursuing the dream he's always had of becoming a good writer. Sevil is aware that Sevgi's behaviour has suddenly changed, that she's become introverted and unhappy, so she sets about to find out what the trouble is. She discovers that their family has some dark secrets hidden behind closed doors.

Ilksen Basarir
Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1978, Ilksen Basarir graduated in communications from Marmara University then worked in the production of commercials and features. She made her directorial debut in features in 2009 with LOVE IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, winner of prizes at festivals in Turkey and Ukraine.

MWFF 2011 | BODY

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011VUCUT | BODY

Turkey
First Films World Competition2011 / Colour / 104 min

Director : Mustafa Nuri Script : Mustafa Nuri
Photography : A. Emre Tanyildiz Editor : Eray Ilhan
Cast : Hatice Aslan, Hakan Kurtas, Cengiz Bozkurt, Sayla Halis, Sebnem Dilligil, Neslihan Yeldan, Ilayda Suren


BODY
Leyla, in her 40s, is an occasional porn actress. Several years ago she moved to Germany with Yilmaz and they worked together in the porn film industry. Now back in Istanbul, Yilmaz breaks up with Leyla. While Leyla is trying to get used to live without Yilmaz, he approaches her with a final request; one last movie. Reluctantly Leyla agrees to act in the picture. And it is through this movie that handsome young Izzet enters her life. Because of a traumatic childhood experience, Izzet is unlike others in the business. During the shooting of the film, an unexpected fight breaks out and Izzet runs away, though Leyla remains in his mind. Izzet follows Leyla for days, begging to reconcile. Leyla isn't fully convinced, but she can't say no to him. She enjoys someone's interest in her after all these years. Can she make it work? Meanwhile, Yilmaz's love life takes a turn for the worse. Without telling his girlfriend he records themselves while having sex. When Yilmaz's girlfriend comes home unexpectedly, she catches Yilmaz showing the tape to his friends. She reacts furiously...

Mustafa Nuri
Born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1973, Mustafa Nuri graduated in communications from Istanbul University and he also has a master's in Turkish culture. He directed numerous commercials, many of which won prizes in the Crystal Apple competition. BODY marks his directorial debut in features.

MWFF 2011 | SEPTEMBER

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011SEPTEMBER | EYLUL
Turkey
First Films World Competition 2011 / Colour / 90 min

Director : Cemil Agacikoglu Script : Cemil Agacikoglu
Photography : Ali Olcay Gozkaya Editor : Taner Sarf
Cast : Turgay Aydin, Gorkem Yeltan, Elena Polyanskaya


SEPTEMBER
Yusuf, a young goldsmith in the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, is having a hard time. His wife Asli is in the hospital, in mortal fear of cancer, and there isn't much he can do to cheer her up. Far from her hometown, Asli has no one in Istanbul but Yusuf and she cannot share her fear of death and her loneliness with him. Meanwhile Yusuf, who is shy and introverted himself, lacks the life experience with which to comfort his wife and he is doubly depressed because of it. As time passes, their inability to communicate widens the gap between them. That's when Elena enters Yusuf's life. Temporarily sharing Asli's room at the hospital, Elena is an attractive foreign woman who was victim of abuse at the hands of her violent partner. Having witnessed Yusuf's demeanor at the hospital, his kindness and compassion for Asli, Elena decides to confide in him when she is discharged from the hospital. She, too, is in trouble and has no one else to turn to in Istanbul. Yusuf agrees to help. But in a macho society where women are stereotyped, Yusuf's friendship with Elena is easily misjudged. Yusuf befriends Elena but he can't convince the people at work that he is just being altruistic. And, indeed, their relationship soon goes beyond altruism. The inevitable intimacy between them leads to a feeling of guilt. But the heart has its own reasons.

Cemil Agacikoglu
Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1959, Cemil Agacikoglu began his career as a photographer in 1990, winning several domestic and international prizes for his work. He made his directorial debut in 1997 with a short film and graduated to music videos. Among his recent shorts: It Was White (2005), Rope (2008) and Police (2008). SEPTEMBER is his first feature.

TIFF 2011 | Future Lasts Forever by Özcan Alper

TIFF The Toronto International Film Festival is the leading public film festival in the world, screening more than 300 films from 60+ countries every September.Contemporary World Cinema
Future Lasts Forever Gelecek Uzun Surer by Özcan Alper

Özcan Alper’s second feature film is many things. Visually, it is a stunning work, featuring some of the finest cinematography I have seen this year and capturing the unique Turkish countryside in its many moods. It is also a love story with a twist, as one half of its central couple is absent for virtually the whole narrative. And to give the film an extra dimension and edge: it confronts the Kurdish reality within Turkey.

Future Lasts Forever is an achingly reflective road movie (with a few inside references to one of the masters of this form, Wim Wenders), tracing a young Turkish woman’s voyage to find her Kurdish lover, who has left to take up the fight of his people. Sumru (Gaye Gürsel), an ethnomusicologist armed with a tape recorder, decides to find and record the elegies, or testimonies, of Kurdish survivors of Turkish atrocities. These are eloquently delivered, mostly by women whose men have been killed — often right before their eyes. But the underlying reason for Sumru’s trip is to find the man who claimed her heart.

At her first stop, the city of Diyarbakir, Sumru meets another man who shares her interests, and soon the two find themselves spending more and more time together. But Alper confounds narrative expectations: even as this new couple continues their voyage together, romantic involvement is not his focus. Instead, his attention rests on people trapped in the past, fumbling to make sense of events that have changed their lives. The silent, enduring landscape is always there, a kind of mute witness to the living and the dead. How can such tragedy exist amid so much beauty?

A film of memories — personal, collective and historic — Future Lasts Forever marks the maturation of an exciting new Turkish talent. Alper pauses and observes, creating quiet emotional moments of devastating power as his heroine moves closer and closer to solving the mystery of her lover’s disappearance.
Piers Handling

Özcan Alper was born in Artvin, Turkey. He studied physics and history of science at Istanbul University. His feature films are Autumn (08) and Future Lasts Forever (11).


Country: Turkey/France/Germany
Year:2011
Language: Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, Hemshince
Runtime: 108 minutes ; Format:DCP(D-Cinema)
Executive Producer: C. Asli Filiz ;Producer: Ersin Celik, Soner Alper
Production Company: Nar Film[1] /Unafilm/Arizona Films
Principal Cast: Gaye Gursel, Durukan Ordu, Sarkis Seropyan, Osman Karakoc, Erdal Kirik
Screenplay:Özcan Alper; Cinematographer:Feza Caldiran; Editor: Ayhan Ergursel, Thomas Balkenhol, Özcan Alper, Umut Sakallioglu; Sound: Mohammed Mokhtary; Music: Mustafa Biber; Production Designer:Tolunay Turkoz

A film of memories, we follow a young ethnomusicologist who leaves Istanbul in search of her Kurdish lover. Along the way she records testimonies of Kurdish survivors, meets a young man who shares her interests and gradually gets closer to resolving what has happened to her friend.

[1] Nar Film was founded in 2009 by Özcan Alper, Ersin Çelik and Soner Alper. 'Autumn', the previous film of Özcan Alper was also included in the line-up of Nar Film after its foundation. Nar Film produced the new project of Özcan Alper, 'Future Lasts Forever'.

Nar Film plans to continue to produce feature and documentary films and intends to provide production services to the international projects as well as bringing art-house international films to a Turkish audience.
NAR FILM
Caferağa Mah. Sarraf Ali Sok.
Kaan Apt. No:25 / 3, Kadıköy / İST / TR
T (+90) 216 418 42 06 | F (+90) 216 336 26 34 | info@narfilm.com

Imdat Serhat Karaaslan

Imdat Serhat Karaaslan was born 1984 in Varto. He graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Istanbul University. He studies towards a master degree on Film and Drama at Kadir Has University since 2009. He works as a pharmacist and he professionally makes his own movies.

Beş Lira - 2009
Araf - 2009

Bisqilet (Bisiklet) - 2010
Xwin (Kan) - 2010

Xwin / Blood ,Short Film by Serhat Karaaslan from Serhad Karaaslan on Vimeo.

Short Film | BISQILÊT by Serhat Karaaslan

Serhat Karaaslan was born 1984 in Varto. He graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Istanbul University. He studies towards a master degree on Film and Drama at Kadir Has University since 2009. He works as a pharmacist and he professionally makes his own movies.

Written and Directed by I. Serhat Karaaslan Cast: Baran Salman, Mehmet Unal, Musa Karagoz | Short / 2010 / 17’ 14”

Bisqilêt / Bisiklet / Bicycle Serhat Karaaslan from serhat karaaslan on Vimeo.

AWARDS
- 43th Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD) Turkish Cinema Awards in the 2010 The Best Short Film
- 47th Antalya ‘Golden Orange’ International Film Festival, Digital Film Academy Award,2010
- 8th Golden Apricot - Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia,Special Mention Prize,2011
- 22th Ankara International Film Festival,The Best Short Film,2011
- 15th Boston Turkish Film Festival, The Best Short Film Juri Award,2010
- 15th Boston Turkish Film Festival, The Best Short Film Audience Award,2010
- 16th Nurnberg Film Festival ,Juri Special Mansion Prize,2011
- 10th Vannes European Film Meetings ,Coop Breizh Prize,2011
- 1st Yilmaz Güney Kurdish Film Festival,The Best Short Film Award,2010
- 8th Metro Short Film Festival ,The Best Short Film Award,2010
- 3th Rotary Short Film Competition, The Best Short Film Award,2011
- 11th Kısaca Student Short Film Festival, The Best Short Film,2011
- 1st Psychiatric Association Of Turkey Short Film Festival,The Best Short Film Award,2011
- 4th Kristal Klaket Short Film Festival, Juri Special Award,2011
- 3th İstanbul Technical University Short Film Festival,The Best Film,2011
- 7th Yildiz Techical University Short Film Festival,Winner of 2nd Prize,2010
- 1st Okan University Student Short Film Competition, The Best Film, 2011
- 1st Eskisehir King Midas International Short Film Festival,Winner Of 2 nd Prize,2011
- 2nd Lions International Short Film Festival,The Best Short Film,2011
- 2nd Lions International Short Film Festival,The Best Director Prize,2011
- 2nd Lions International Short Film Festival,Winner 3th Cinematographer,2011

FESTIVALS
- 64th Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner,2011
- Hisar Short Film Selection ( 10 Best Short Film of Turkey) ,2011
- 17 th Sarajevo Film Festival,Section,2011
- 8th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival,Short Film Competition Section,2011
- 22nd Trieste International Film Festival, Short Film Competition Section,2011
- 14th Brussels International Short Film Festival, Short Films Competition Section,2011
- 17th International Film Festival Della Lessinia Bosco Chiesanuova, Short Films Competition Section,2011
- 19 th Yasujiro Ozu International Short Film Festival,Section,2011
- 11th Fluxus International Film Festival,Section,2011
- 7th Detmold International Short Film Festival ,Section,2011
- 7th Athens International Short Film Competition, Section,2011
- Canadian Sport Film Festival, Section, 2011
- Poland ‘KAN’ International Short Film Festival, Short Films Competition Section,2011
- India 3rd CMS International Children’s Film Festival, Short Films Competition Section,2011
- 1st Kurdish Film Festival In Carrick On Shannon,Republic of Ireland,Section,2010
- 7 th Almaty International Film Festival titled “Shaken’s Stars-2011,Short Films Competition Section, 2011
- Greece Artfools International video Festival,Short Films Competition Section, 2011
- 6th International Labor Film Festival, 2011
- 22 th İstanbul International Short Film Festival,Section,2010
- Bulgaria "Flowers of the Quran" Film Festival, Section, 2011
- International Teen Short Film Festival, Section, 2011
- 7 th Akbank Short Film Festival,Section, 2011

New Turkish Cinema: The Third Wave By Mariana Hristova

New Turkish Cinema: The Third Wave By Mariana Hristova

Interview | Belma Baş

Interview Belma Baş director of Zephyr SOURCE
TURKEY


Belma Baş was born in Ordu, Turkey in 1969. After moving to Istanbul to study English literature, she developed an interest in being a director. Her first short, Poyraz, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. Zephyr, about a troubled 11 year old girl who is spending the summer living with her grandparents on their isolated farm, awaiting the return of her absent mother, is her debut feature.

Since when has cinema been a part of your life?

For a long time (laughs). In my childhood there was only one TV channel, and I strongly remember seeing images of Bergman’s The Seventh Seal without really knowing what they were. Throughout my childhood, European films were shown: it wasn’t all mainstream Hollywood things. So you could see very good examples of European cinema.

When I moved from my small town to Istanbul, there was a little film festival, which is now the biggest film festival in all Turkey, and I saw things like Tarkovsky’s Stalker, and I became aware that a different style of cinema exists. I was fascinated by this. I was most interested in the mavericks of their own countries.

Zephyr addresses similar themes to your earlier short film. Is this by design?

Yes, my short film was a prelude to Zephyr. I used many of the same non-professional actors. Also, because there is a lack of heroines in cinema, I want to make a series of films from a female point of view. The male perspective is very different from the female perspective, so I’m trying to capture new traits.

Is Zephyr an autobiographical film?

The storyline is fictional, but otherwise everything is real. I started with experiences I had growing up. I wanted to go back to the roots of everything. I gained a new perspective coming to a big city, Istanbul, and it’s a kind of nostalgia that takes me back to my home town. There are also references to the 70s period in the music. Somehow, I’m a little fixated with the 70s, my childhood. But the situation of the movie is fictional; I am not like Zephyr. Well, I was kind of autistic, maybe! Zephyr is kind of autistic too. She lives in her own world, and she has different reactions to everybody else about life.

Is it fair to say the style of the movie is indebted to classic European cinema?

Yes, and it’s not only Tarkovsky. Look at the cow’s eye; it’s like Bunuel! I was also influenced by Bresson, and the mother’s face is framed as a tribute to Bergman. All those influences form the pieces of a puzzle: childhood, family history, my relationship with English literature, the masters of contemporary cinema, like Haneke and Van Sant. They are handling delicate issues in a deadpan style and with frightening starkness. I believe there is no creation without tradition. Every influence I have makes its way into the formation of my own filmmaking.

Zephyr’s mother is a very mysterious character. Why do you think she has abandoned her daughter?

I just gave a little hint, because if it’s very obvious, then people’s focus will go. It’s just a part of the bigger picture. At the end we see there is a UNICEF file which falls out of the backpack. It is about children who are under threat. She knows she can leave her child in a safe environment. So, she cares about other children for very idealistic reasons. She feels more of a social responsibility than a political one.

The movie was shot on film; what do you think of digital production methods?

I am still a conservative in this respect. I love film stock. I can’t think of using digital, because it makes things look unsophisticated. The advantages of film are still much higher than the advantages of digital. My DP is also very fond of film. But, in terms of budget, I may have to move to digital for the next project.

Do you learn about yourself making films?

Of course. I confront my secret fears. I have big questions about life and the dark side. This film can be summed up as a ‘coming of age’ story about growing up, and I myself need to be a more grown-up person, maybe. Making films helps me to solve my issues (laughs).

By Michael O’Regan

Short Film | Poyraz by Belma Baş

Watch Poyraz
Belma Baş was born in Ordu, Turkey in 1969. After moving to Istanbul to study English literature, she developed an interest in being a director. Her first short, Poyraz, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. Zephyr, about a troubled 11 year old girl who is spending the summer living with her grandparents on their isolated farm, awaiting the return of her absent mother, is her debut feature.

Poyraz from Altyazı Aylık Sinema Dergisi on Vimeo.

35th MWFF | The Turks

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL August 18 to 28, 2011
Jury presided over by Spanish director Vicente Aranda
383 FILMS FROM OVER 70 COUNTRIES | 230 features and medium-length films | 153 short films

FIRST FILMS WORLD COMPETITION
BODY - Mustafa Nuri (Turkey)
SEPTEMBER - Cemil Agacikoglu (Turkey)

HORS CONCOURS / WORLD GREATS
SHADOWS AND FACES - Dervis Zaim (Turkey)

FOCUS ON WORLD CINEMA
HAYDE BRE – Orhan Oguz (Turkey)
MERRY-GO-ROUND – Ilksen Basarir (Turkey)
PRESS – Sedat Yilmaz (Turkey)
THE SUN – Atilla Cengiz (Turkey)