Venice
Soul Kitchen (Germany)
By DEREK ELLEY
A Pandora Film release of a Corazon Intl. production, in association with Pyramide Prods., NDR, Dorje Film. (International sales: the Match Factory, Cologne.) Produced by Klaus Maeck, Fatih Akin. Co-producers, Fabienne Vonier, Alberto Fanni, Flaminio Zadra, Paolo Colombo. Directed by Fatih Akin. Screenplay, Akin, Adam Bousdoukos.
With: Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birol Unel, Anna Bederke, Pheline Roggan, Lucas Gregorowicz, Dorka Gryllus, Wotan Wilke Moehring, Demir Gokgol, Monica Bleibtreu, Udo Kier, Marc Hosemann, Cem Akin, Catrin Striebeck, Jan Fedder, Julia Wachsmann, Markus Imboden, Gudrun Egner, Gustav Peter Woehler, Ugur Yucel.
Returning to his native Hamburg, Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin rediscovers the verve of his early "Short Sharp Shock," tempered by a mature warmth, in "Soul Kitchen." Nicely cast ensembler, centered on a hopelessly disorganized eatery owner and peopled by a weird collection of lovable eccentrics, is pacey entertainment that hardly puts a foot wrong. This is not the fest-laureled Akin of weighty fare like "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven" -- more the one of "Solino" with a grungy, down-to-earth Hamburg edge. Offshore sales, at least in Europe, look to be lively.
Clearly made as a change of pace after "Heaven," the pic is labeled by Akin "an audacious, dirty Heimat film." But for him, a Heimat film isn't Bavarian blondes in dirndls; this is northern, grungy, multikulti Germany, with Greeks, Turks, rock bands and drifters.
Zinos Kazantsakis (Greek-German thesp Adam Bousdoukos) owns and caters a warehouse restaurant in the Hamburg nabe of Wilhelmsburg, where the working-class clientele like deep-fried schnitzels and burgers with their beer. Always running behind the eight-ball, Zinos even arrives late for the farewell dinner of his better-off g.f., Nadine (Pheline Roggan), who's leaving for a job in Shanghai.
When Zinos' larcenous younger brother, Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu), is let out of jail on day release, he asks Zinos to give him a fake job so he can get out more often. Zinos also has the idea of hiring a professional chef, the temperamental Shayn (Birol Unel), whose nouvelle cuisine alienates his regulars but eventually becomes a hit with the in-crowd.
With a tax inspector (Catrin Striebeck) and health officer (Jan Fedder) on his back, Nadine nagging him long-distance to join her, and a real estate shark (Wotan Wilke Moehring) trying to force him to sell the place, Zinos signs power of attorney over to the unreliable Illias and decides to set off to China. But he doesn't get further than the airport.
Incident-packed script manages to juggle a large number of characters and cameos without leaving any of them feeling underdeveloped. As the pieces fall into place in the final reels, there's a nice sense of community among the group of dreamers, losers and getting-byers, a feeling of how "home" is where you're most comfortable rather than a specific country, culture or place.
Bousdoukos, who co-wrote the script with Akin and was in the helmer's "Short Sharp Shock," has a slightly goofy, dumbkopf appeal that's just right for Zinos, and he teams well with Bleibtreu as his younger brother. Moehring and Unel are fine as the property trader and prima donna chef, respectively, but the real discovery is Hamburg-born Anna Bederke as Lucia, Zinos' hard-drinking waitress, who, in a beautifully played sequence, falls hard for Illias. As Zinos' physical therapist, Anna, Hungarian thesp Dorka Gryllus ("Irina Palm") is also aces in a key but gentler role.
Though several sequences feature cuisine, "Soul Kitchen" is not a foodie film a la "Mostly Martha." Music, just as much as food, is the way into the souls of these characters, but the rough-edged city of Hamburg -- always there in the background -- is what brings them together. Pic is as much a love letter to the place as to its people.
Technical package is deliberately on the grungy side but blooms when necessary under the camera of Akin regular Rainer Klausmann. Tight editing by Andrew Bird brings the pic in at a flab-free 98 minutes, and end titles are especially inventive.
The film is dedicated to Akin's brother, Cem, who plays one of Illias' buddies. It also features one of the last performances of Bleibtreu's mother, Monica (who died in May), in a comically explosive cameo as Nadine's grandma.
Camera (color), Rainer Klausmann; editor, Andrew Bird; music supervisors, Klaus Maeck, Pia Hoffmann; production designer, Tamo Kunz; costume designer, Katrin Aschendorf; sound (Dolby Digital), Kai Luede, Richard Borowski; sound designer, Andreas Hildebrandt; casting, Monique Akin. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (competing), Sept. 10, 2009. (Also in Toronto Film Festival -- Special Presentations.) Running time: 98 MIN.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Montreal 2009 | A STEP INTO THE DARKNESS by Atil Inaç
A STEP INTO THE DARKNESS| BUYUK OYUN Turkey 2009 / Colour / 110 min PRODUCTION TEAM
Production company : Ayfer Ozgurel, Avni Ozgurel, TFT Film Yapim, Yildiz Cad. Tevfik Pasa Konagi No. 49, D.2, Besiktas, 3
Director : Atil Inaç Script : Avni Ozgurel, Atil Inaç
Photography : Editor : Aziz Imamoglu
Cast : Suzan Genc, Selen Ucer, Haktan Pak, Ranna Cabbar, Serdal Genc, Nalan Korucim
Cennet, a young Turkmen girl, who is the only survivor of a raid on her village in northern Iraq, sets out for Kirkuk in search of her older brother. There she learns that he was wounded by a bomb and taken to Turkey for treatment. Desperate to track him down, Cennet sets off on an arduous journey. When one of the smugglers who had agreed to help her across the mountains rapes her, she tries to kill herself. This time, she is rescued by the members of a radical Islamist organization who help her reach Istanbul, but she soon finds herself in the clutches of a charismatic religious figure who views her as an expendable instrument for his own violent agenda.
Atil Inaç
Turkish director Atil Inaç studied philosophy at Bogazici University in Turkey and at the University of Missouri and Claremont Graduate University in California, where he began his career working for the DFH ethnic television network in Los Angeles. Returning home in 2003, he continued working in TV, writing scripts for and directing series and sitcoms. He made his first feature, ZINCIRBOZAN, in 2007.
Production company : Ayfer Ozgurel, Avni Ozgurel, TFT Film Yapim, Yildiz Cad. Tevfik Pasa Konagi No. 49, D.2, Besiktas, 3
Director : Atil Inaç Script : Avni Ozgurel, Atil Inaç
Photography : Editor : Aziz Imamoglu
Cast : Suzan Genc, Selen Ucer, Haktan Pak, Ranna Cabbar, Serdal Genc, Nalan Korucim
Cennet, a young Turkmen girl, who is the only survivor of a raid on her village in northern Iraq, sets out for Kirkuk in search of her older brother. There she learns that he was wounded by a bomb and taken to Turkey for treatment. Desperate to track him down, Cennet sets off on an arduous journey. When one of the smugglers who had agreed to help her across the mountains rapes her, she tries to kill herself. This time, she is rescued by the members of a radical Islamist organization who help her reach Istanbul, but she soon finds herself in the clutches of a charismatic religious figure who views her as an expendable instrument for his own violent agenda.
Atil Inaç
Turkish director Atil Inaç studied philosophy at Bogazici University in Turkey and at the University of Missouri and Claremont Graduate University in California, where he began his career working for the DFH ethnic television network in Los Angeles. Returning home in 2003, he continued working in TV, writing scripts for and directing series and sitcoms. He made his first feature, ZINCIRBOZAN, in 2007.
The World Film Festival 2009 | A Showcase for Five Turkish Films
The World Film Festival
August 27 to September 7, 2009
The goal of the Montreal World Film Festival (Montreal International Film Festival) is to encourage cultural diversity and understanding among nations, to foster the cinema of all continents by stimulating the development of quality cinema, to promote filmmakers and innovative works, to discover and encourage new talents, and to promote meetings between cinema professionals from around the world.
The World Film Festival - Montreal 2009 included the following sections:
* World Competition
* First Films World Competition
* Hors Concours (World Greats, out-of competition)
* Focus on World Cinema (Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania)
* Documentaries of the World
* Tributes
* Cinema Under the Stars
* Canadian Student Film Festival
Focus on World Cinema
BUYUK OYUN, 2009 / Colour / 110 min, Dir. Atil Inaç, Turkey.
GOLGESIZLER, 2009 / Colour / 97 min, Dir. Umit Unal, Turkey.
KARANLIKTAKILER, 2009 / Colour / 100 min, Dir. Çagan Irmak, Turkey.
SICAK, 2008 / Colour / 116 min, Dir. Abdullah Oguz, Turkey.
USTA, 2009 / Colour / 113 min, Dir. Bahadir Karatas, Turkey - Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rhode Island IFF Grand Prix to Çağan Irmak
The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) discovers and empowers filmmakers. Held in Providence, and locations throughout the state of Rhode Island. The 2009 Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) announced the winners in this year’s film competition at its annual Awards Ceremony held at the Providence Biltmore Hotel and the Best Feature Grand Prix went to ISSIZ ADAM (ALONE), Directed by Cagan Irmak (2008, Turkey).
ISSIZ ADAM (ALONE), (2008, Turkey).113 minutes
CAST:CEMAL HUNAL, MELIS BIRKAN, YILDIZ KULTUR, SERIF BOZKURT, GOZDE KANSU, GONCAGUL SUNAR; MUSIC: ARIA; DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GOKHAN TIRYAKI; EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:I GULCE PRODUCTION COMPANY, MOST PRODUCTION, PRODUCER: MUSTAFA OGUZ, WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: CAGAN IRMAK
Thirty-something ALPER is a talented chef who runs his own restaurant. He may have achieved success in business, but the same cannot be said of his personal life. While caught in the triangle of his gastronomic creations, one-night stands and escort girls, he suddenly finds his life take a new turn when he walks into a second-hand bookshop in the backstreets of Beyoglu to buy and old record he has been looking for.ADA is an attractive, unassuming and relatively stable woman in her late 20s who designs and makes fancy dress costumes for kids. One day, while wandering around Beyoglu in search of a second-hand book, she walks into the same shop as Alper. A womaniser by nature, Alper is impressed by Ada's good looks and sets off in pursuit. As a pretext for introducing himself, he tracks down the book Ada was looking for, buys it and then presents it to her. As it turns out, this book is the beginning of a passionate affair between the two. But the harder Alper tries to create space for Ada in his existing life, the more restricted, the more claustrophobic he starts to feel. Ada, however, is blissfully unaware of the poison in Alper's blood and delights on being in love.Ada and Alper live out their romance as far as they are able and in the measure to which life allows them.
In Mustafa Hakkinda Hersey (All About Mustafa) Cagan Irmak deals with the lies thrown at us by life; in Babam ve Oglum (My Father and My Son) his standpoint is that of a tight-knit Aegean family; and in Ulak (The Messenger) he tells us of the world we live in by believing in stories. This time, however, he sets his story in the metropolis.ALONE is a film that tells of people isolated and made lonely by modern life; people who need people but are blind to that need in the maelstrom of the metropolis; blind, that is, until it is too late. It is a story about food, mothers, old songs and love; a story both bitter and full of hope. PRODUCTION NOTESShooting for a period of five weeks, ALONE used natural locations that were dressed up and redecorated to match the needs of the script.For this film, too, Cagan Irmak reassembled the principal crew he has worked with on many previous successful productions, with the addition this time of DoP Gokhan Tiryaki, who was named Best Cinematographer at the World Film Festival of Bangkok in 2006.The original score, which was recorded live by a large string orchestra, was composed by ARIA. A number of treasured songs from the 70s were also used in the film soundtrack. Careful to brief his cast and crew thoroughly in advance in order to obtain a natural, spontaneous look for the film, the director scheduled in extra hours with his actors to ensure they slipped easily out of role again. Locations were centred largely on the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, where shooting sometimes required a hidden camera and sometimes large crowds of extras. A number of scenes were also photographed in Tarsus, on the southeast Mediterranean coast. Shot in scope, the film was based for the laboratory stage at Istanbul's Sinefekt Studios. The production used synch sound throughout photography, bringing in an experienced crew from overseas for the purpose.
ISSIZ ADAM (ALONE), (2008, Turkey).113 minutes
CAST:CEMAL HUNAL, MELIS BIRKAN, YILDIZ KULTUR, SERIF BOZKURT, GOZDE KANSU, GONCAGUL SUNAR; MUSIC: ARIA; DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GOKHAN TIRYAKI; EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:I GULCE PRODUCTION COMPANY, MOST PRODUCTION, PRODUCER: MUSTAFA OGUZ, WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: CAGAN IRMAK
Thirty-something ALPER is a talented chef who runs his own restaurant. He may have achieved success in business, but the same cannot be said of his personal life. While caught in the triangle of his gastronomic creations, one-night stands and escort girls, he suddenly finds his life take a new turn when he walks into a second-hand bookshop in the backstreets of Beyoglu to buy and old record he has been looking for.ADA is an attractive, unassuming and relatively stable woman in her late 20s who designs and makes fancy dress costumes for kids. One day, while wandering around Beyoglu in search of a second-hand book, she walks into the same shop as Alper. A womaniser by nature, Alper is impressed by Ada's good looks and sets off in pursuit. As a pretext for introducing himself, he tracks down the book Ada was looking for, buys it and then presents it to her. As it turns out, this book is the beginning of a passionate affair between the two. But the harder Alper tries to create space for Ada in his existing life, the more restricted, the more claustrophobic he starts to feel. Ada, however, is blissfully unaware of the poison in Alper's blood and delights on being in love.Ada and Alper live out their romance as far as they are able and in the measure to which life allows them.
In Mustafa Hakkinda Hersey (All About Mustafa) Cagan Irmak deals with the lies thrown at us by life; in Babam ve Oglum (My Father and My Son) his standpoint is that of a tight-knit Aegean family; and in Ulak (The Messenger) he tells us of the world we live in by believing in stories. This time, however, he sets his story in the metropolis.ALONE is a film that tells of people isolated and made lonely by modern life; people who need people but are blind to that need in the maelstrom of the metropolis; blind, that is, until it is too late. It is a story about food, mothers, old songs and love; a story both bitter and full of hope. PRODUCTION NOTESShooting for a period of five weeks, ALONE used natural locations that were dressed up and redecorated to match the needs of the script.For this film, too, Cagan Irmak reassembled the principal crew he has worked with on many previous successful productions, with the addition this time of DoP Gokhan Tiryaki, who was named Best Cinematographer at the World Film Festival of Bangkok in 2006.The original score, which was recorded live by a large string orchestra, was composed by ARIA. A number of treasured songs from the 70s were also used in the film soundtrack. Careful to brief his cast and crew thoroughly in advance in order to obtain a natural, spontaneous look for the film, the director scheduled in extra hours with his actors to ensure they slipped easily out of role again. Locations were centred largely on the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, where shooting sometimes required a hidden camera and sometimes large crowds of extras. A number of scenes were also photographed in Tarsus, on the southeast Mediterranean coast. Shot in scope, the film was based for the laboratory stage at Istanbul's Sinefekt Studios. The production used synch sound throughout photography, bringing in an experienced crew from overseas for the purpose.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Captain Kemal, a Comrade
Captain Kemal, a Comrade / Fotos Lamprinos
The portrait of Mihri Belli, a Turk born in 1915, who, after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) was a devout nationalist and fanatic enemy of the Greeks, but decided, in 1947, to travel illegally to the mountains in Thrace to fight in the Greek Civil War on the side of the Greek communist guerrillas. Today, at the age of 92, he makes a journey back to Greece where he fought to visit the battle fields and hopefully meet again with his comrades.
Director: Fotos Lamprinos
Script: Fotos Lamprinos
Photographer: Simos Sakertzis
Montage: Alexis Pezas
Sound: Dimitris Athanassopoulos
Music: Yorgos Papadakis
Producer: Costas Lambropoulos
Production: CL Productions, Greek Film Centre, ERT SA Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., & Asi Film
Narration: Manos Zakharias. Texts: Mihri Belli
Type: BetacamSP Color-B&W
Production Country: Greece, Turkey
Duration: 72
Production Year: 2008
World Sales: CL Productions, Greece Zoe Lisgara T. +30 210 6412700 zoelisgara@clproductions.gr www.clproductions.gr
Fotos Lamprinos Filmography
1963-1964 100 Hours in May (short)
1969 Visit Greece (short)
1975 Ermoupolis – 9th Century
1976-1977 A Musical Travelogue with Domna Samiou (8-doc. series)
1977-1980 45 docs (TV series: Images from Northern Greece,
From the Pindus to Evros, ERT in Northern Greece, Research, Backstage)
1980 Yannis Tsarouchis’ Piraeus (short)
1980 Medieval Villages on Chios
1980 Nea Moni, Chios (TV series: This is Where Europe was Born)
1981 Aris Velouchiotis – The Dilemma
1981-1987 Panorama of the Century (33-doc. TV series)
1984 Panorama of the Century 1st episode (1895-1900) (short)
1987 Doxobus (fiction)
1988 Athens University – 50 Years
1989 Struggle at Sea
1989 Crete’s Unification with Greece (TV)
1989 Ancient Rhodes
1989-1990 A 70-year-old October (5-doc. TV series)
The Greeks of Russia (6-doc. TV series)
Political Refugees (TV)
Sergei Paradjanov (short) (TV)
Georgian Painters (TV)
1991 Emmanouil Roidis - Ermoupolis (TV series “The Words of the City”)
1991 Moscow – November 1990. Return to the Future (5 short doc. TV series)
1991 Beauty Will Save the World (7-doc. TV series)
1995 Birthday Celebration or a Silent Balkan Story
1995-1997 In Search of Berenice (3-doc. TV series)
2005 My Power Lies in the Love of the Lens
2008 Captain Kemal, a Comrade
Fotos Lamprinos Biography
He studied Film in Moscow (1965-1970). From 1970 to 1973 he thoroughly researched twenty-two governmental and private film archives in Europe and the United States in search of newsreel material referring to Greece between 1911-1971. In 1973 he collaborated withTheo Angelopoulos on the scenario for Angelopoulos’ film The Traveling Players. From 1975 to 1997 he directed over 50 documentaries for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), including Panorama of the Century–thirty-three 30-minute episodes narrating the news in Greece and the world from 1895 to 1940, based exclusively on newsreel material; a series of twenty documentaries on the disintegration of the Soviet Union (1989- 1990); and a seven-episode documentary, Beauty Will Save the World (1991), which chronicled the parallel journey of the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church from the 10th century to our time. In 1981 Lamprinos filmed a feature-length documentary for the screen entitled Aris Velouchiotis –The Dilemma about the Resistance during the German occupation. His fiction film Doxobus (1987) referred to the 14th-century Byzantine province by the same name and the civil war of that period. In 1995 he produced and directed Birthday Celebration or a Silent Balkan Story, a documentary dedicated to the centenary of cinema and made up of footage from Balkan silent movies (1895-1930). His films have received awards in Greece and abroad. Lamprinos created the first Greek user-friendly archive of old newsreels (1997-2000), which is housed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1993 to 2003 he taught “The Relationship between History and Cinema” at various universities in Greece.
Source:Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
The portrait of Mihri Belli, a Turk born in 1915, who, after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) was a devout nationalist and fanatic enemy of the Greeks, but decided, in 1947, to travel illegally to the mountains in Thrace to fight in the Greek Civil War on the side of the Greek communist guerrillas. Today, at the age of 92, he makes a journey back to Greece where he fought to visit the battle fields and hopefully meet again with his comrades.
Director: Fotos Lamprinos
Script: Fotos Lamprinos
Photographer: Simos Sakertzis
Montage: Alexis Pezas
Sound: Dimitris Athanassopoulos
Music: Yorgos Papadakis
Producer: Costas Lambropoulos
Production: CL Productions, Greek Film Centre, ERT SA Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., & Asi Film
Narration: Manos Zakharias. Texts: Mihri Belli
Type: BetacamSP Color-B&W
Production Country: Greece, Turkey
Duration: 72
Production Year: 2008
World Sales: CL Productions, Greece Zoe Lisgara T. +30 210 6412700 zoelisgara@clproductions.gr www.clproductions.gr
Fotos Lamprinos Filmography
1963-1964 100 Hours in May (short)
1969 Visit Greece (short)
1975 Ermoupolis – 9th Century
1976-1977 A Musical Travelogue with Domna Samiou (8-doc. series)
1977-1980 45 docs (TV series: Images from Northern Greece,
From the Pindus to Evros, ERT in Northern Greece, Research, Backstage)
1980 Yannis Tsarouchis’ Piraeus (short)
1980 Medieval Villages on Chios
1980 Nea Moni, Chios (TV series: This is Where Europe was Born)
1981 Aris Velouchiotis – The Dilemma
1981-1987 Panorama of the Century (33-doc. TV series)
1984 Panorama of the Century 1st episode (1895-1900) (short)
1987 Doxobus (fiction)
1988 Athens University – 50 Years
1989 Struggle at Sea
1989 Crete’s Unification with Greece (TV)
1989 Ancient Rhodes
1989-1990 A 70-year-old October (5-doc. TV series)
The Greeks of Russia (6-doc. TV series)
Political Refugees (TV)
Sergei Paradjanov (short) (TV)
Georgian Painters (TV)
1991 Emmanouil Roidis - Ermoupolis (TV series “The Words of the City”)
1991 Moscow – November 1990. Return to the Future (5 short doc. TV series)
1991 Beauty Will Save the World (7-doc. TV series)
1995 Birthday Celebration or a Silent Balkan Story
1995-1997 In Search of Berenice (3-doc. TV series)
2005 My Power Lies in the Love of the Lens
2008 Captain Kemal, a Comrade
Fotos Lamprinos Biography
He studied Film in Moscow (1965-1970). From 1970 to 1973 he thoroughly researched twenty-two governmental and private film archives in Europe and the United States in search of newsreel material referring to Greece between 1911-1971. In 1973 he collaborated withTheo Angelopoulos on the scenario for Angelopoulos’ film The Traveling Players. From 1975 to 1997 he directed over 50 documentaries for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), including Panorama of the Century–thirty-three 30-minute episodes narrating the news in Greece and the world from 1895 to 1940, based exclusively on newsreel material; a series of twenty documentaries on the disintegration of the Soviet Union (1989- 1990); and a seven-episode documentary, Beauty Will Save the World (1991), which chronicled the parallel journey of the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church from the 10th century to our time. In 1981 Lamprinos filmed a feature-length documentary for the screen entitled Aris Velouchiotis –The Dilemma about the Resistance during the German occupation. His fiction film Doxobus (1987) referred to the 14th-century Byzantine province by the same name and the civil war of that period. In 1995 he produced and directed Birthday Celebration or a Silent Balkan Story, a documentary dedicated to the centenary of cinema and made up of footage from Balkan silent movies (1895-1930). His films have received awards in Greece and abroad. Lamprinos created the first Greek user-friendly archive of old newsreels (1997-2000), which is housed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1993 to 2003 he taught “The Relationship between History and Cinema” at various universities in Greece.
Source:Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Emel Çelebi's ‘Sisters of Lilith' named best Balkan documentary
‘Sisters of Lilith' named best Balkan documentary - Turkish documentary filmmaker Emel Çelebi's 2008 film “Lilit'in Kızkardeşleri” (The Sisters of Lilith) has won the Best Balkan Documentary prize at this year's Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival in Kosovo.
Turkish documentary filmmaker Emel Çelebi's 2008 film “Lilit'in Kızkardeşleri” (The Sisters of Lilith) has won the Best Balkan Documentary prize at this year's Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival in Kosovo.
The 41-minute film, which follows three Turkish women living their lives as a shepherdess, a fisherwoman and a farmer, beat 14 other entrants in the festival's eighth edition, held from Aug. 3-9 in Prizren.
Director: Emel Çelebi
Producer: Necati Sönmez
Cinematographer: Necati Sönmez, Özem Günhan
Editor: Necati Sönmez, Emel Çelebi
Music: Mircan Kaya
World Sales: ZeZe Film, Turkey Necati Sönmez T. +90 212 249 9721 necati@zezefilm.com www.zezefilm.com
Synopsis
Three women who live in harmony with nature, not succumbing to anyone with the force they draw off their labour in nature: a shepherd who lives with her flock in the mountains; a fisher who goes out to the sea everyday although she can’t swim; and a farmer who cares for her home and buys and sells fields. This is a song of praise for the strong and productive identity of women told through the stories of three characters.
Bio
Born and raised in Istanbul. She has studied English literature. She worked in various magazines as editor, interpreter and writer. Her first film “Housekeeper” has won the Best Documentary Award in 43rd Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and the First Prize in 9th Women’s Film Festival in Seoul.
Festivals and Awards:
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 2009. Ankara International Film Festival 2009. International Filmmor Women’s Film Festival, Istanbul 2009. DocumFest, Timisoara, Romania. Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. International Bodrum Filmfest DOCUMENTARIST – Istanbul Documentary Days. Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival 27th International Istanbul Film Festival
Contact
Emel Celebi
Sahkulu Mah. Seraskerci Cik. 4/2 Galata, Beyoglu
34420, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: + 90 212 249 97 21
emelcelebis@yahoo.com
10 to 11 at San Sebastian Film Festivalt
Turkish director Pelin Esmer’s “11’e 10 kala” (10 to 11) will compete for the Kutxa-New Directors Award while also screening in the official competition. The 57th San Sebastian runs this year from Sept. 18-26 in Spain's northern Basque region.
The film, starring directors uncle, a real life collector Mithat Esmer in its title role, follows the story of an old antiques collector who resides in an old apartment building that has to be demolished and rebuilt to bring it up to code with earthquake regulations.
In 2009 she received the Jury Special Prize for “11’e 10’ kala” (10 to 11) in the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival. In the same year, she was also awarded the best director for “11’e 10’ kala” in the 16th Altın Koza Film Festival.
This year's lineup from 13 countries is true to form, emphasizing hard-hitting subjects such as homelessness, immigration, loneliness, prison and genocide.
The remaining 14 films will run in the Zabaltegi (New Directors) section. Miraz Bezar's film "Before my Eyes" about Turkish Kurdistan events as seen by children are a few of the other films that will run in the section. The award comes with a monetary prize of €90,000 ($127,250), to be split between the director and the Spanish distributor of the film, has helped launch some of international filmmaking's hottest fresh faces and attracts fledgling talent.
Turkish director Yeşim Ustaoğlu won the Golden Shell for Best Film award with her movie “Pandora’nin Kutusu” (Pandora’s Box) at last year’s San Sebastian Film Festival.
Pelin Esmer's award-winning debut fictional feature “11'e 10 Kala” (10 to 11), will get its theatrical release in Turkey on Sept. 25 through Özen Film.
Bio and Filmography
PELIN ESMER was born in Istanbul in 1972. She majored in Sociology at Bosphorus University. After graduating, she took classes at director Yavuz Ozkan's film workshop. She worked as an assistant director in a number of Turkish and foreign film productions, and directed a documentary, Koleksiyoncu (The Collector) with which she received the Best Documentary Award at Rome Independent Film Festival, and won third place at the Ankara Film Festival. She is currently a lecturer on documentary filmmaking at Kadir Has University Film Radio and TV Department in Istanbul. Oyun (The Play) is her latest film.
Filmography:
Oyun / The Play (Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor) 2005
Koleksiyoncu / The Collector (Director, Producer, Cinematographer) 2002
Gonlumdeki Kosk Olmasa / Omfavn Mig Måne/House of Hearts (First Assist. Director) 2002
Deli Yurek Bumerang Cehennemi / Wildheart, Hell of Boomerang (First Assist. Director) 2001
Cumhuriyet / The Republic (First Assist. Director) 1998
Conversations Across Bosphorus (Assist. Director) 1995
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Men on the Bridge in Toronto IFF 2009
Director Asli ÖzgeThe 34th Toronto International Film Festival will be held Thursday, September 10 to Saturday, September 19, 2009. The Toronto International Film Festival ranks among the most prestigious international film festivals in the world.
This years istanbul IFF winner Men on the Bridge was selected to screen as part of the Contemporary World Cinema Section. The film is about the stories of three men working at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul are told by the original characters, in this mosaic depicting real persons exposing their lives and aspirations
Men on the Bridge | Köprüdekiler by Asli Özge
Country: Germany / Turkey / The Netherlands
Year: 2009
Runtime: 87 minutes
Format: Colour/35mm
Production Company: Endorphine Production
Producer: Fabian Massah
Screenplay: Asli Özge
Cinematographer: Emre Erkmen
Editor: Vessela Martschewski, Aylin Tinel, Christof Schertenleib
Sound: Florian Beck
Principal Cast: Fikret Portakal, Murat Tokgöz, Umut Ilker, Cemile Ilker
Aslı Özge was born in Istanbul in 1975. She graduated from the communication Faculty of Istanbul University in 1995, then from the Sinema-TV Department in the Faculty of Fine Arts of Marmara University in 1999. She then went to Berlin to continue towards her Master’s degree in Philosophy at Berlin Technical University. She founded the EEE Production Company with Emre Erkmen and scenarist Dagmar Gabler, and made a film “Biraz Nisan” in 2001. She was awarded “the Outstanding Young Persons of the World" by TOYP. In 2002, in a competition of 10 successful young people in the world, she was chosen the first in Turkey. She received the cultural success award in 2002. She also directed documentary films such as “Hesperos’un Çömezleri” (2005). Özge was nominated with her film in the 42nd Antalya Altın Potakal Film Festival in 2005. In 2009, she was awarded “the Best Turkish Film” for “Köprüdekiler” in the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival. In the same year, she was also awarded “the Best Film” for “Köprüdekiler” in the 16th Altın Koza Film Festival.
Short films:
Aslında (1997)
3 ETC (1998)
Quirck (1999)
Zamana dair Parçalar (2000)
Capital C (2000)
Awards:
“Capital C”:
-the 22nd İFSAK National Short Film and documentary competition, the best film award in the field of fiction video
-the 12th Ankara Film Festival, National Short Film, participated in the field of fiction
-nominated in the 1st Izmir Short Film Days (2000)
-participated in the AFM International Film Festival (2002)
“Zamana dair Parçalar”
-the 1st Izmir Short Film Days (2000)
“Quirck”
-participated in the Izmir Short Film Days (2000)
“3 ETC”
-Izmir Short Film Days (2000)
“Aslında”
- the 1st Izmir Short Film Days (2000)
Reference: kameraarkasi.org; sinematurk.com; radikal.com.tr
Friday, July 31, 2009
Venice 2009 | Soul Kitchen by Fatih Akin
Turkish-German helmer Fatih Akin’s “Soul Kitchen,” which had been put on the back burner while “The Edge of Heaven” was pushed into production, is cooking once more.
The Hamburg-set romantic comedy, which was first unveiled in 2004, has been handed E3.2 million ($5.1 million) in production support by German funding org FFA in May 2008 session and will debut as part of the International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres at the 66. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice (2-12 settembre 2009) which is under the direction of Marco Müller for the fifth consecutive year.
The Jury of Venezia 66 will be chaired by Ang Lee and composed of: Sandrine Bonnaire,Liliana Cavani, Joe Dante, Anurag Kashyap and Luciano Ligabue.
Fatih Akin Reunites With HEAD ON’s Birol Ünel For Soul Kitchen, which is a comedy that also stars Moritz Bleibtreu and Alexandra Maria Lara. The Hamburg-set romantic comedy tells the story of Greek bar owner Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos) who has a relationship with a basketball player from Serbia, while attempting to keep his restaurant in business as Akin returns to his favorite themes of culture and gender clash. It has been described as a love song to Hamburg and Akin's home town Film fest (Sept. 24-Oct. 3) is also set to run "Soul Kitchen".
Distributor Pandora will bow the film in Germany on Christmas Day. The Match Factory is selling "Soul Kitchen" worldwide.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Altın Portakal Film Festival to ditch Eurasia, film market
Altın Portakal Film Festival to ditch Eurasia, film market
Well-known Turkish screen actors and actresses salute residents of Antalya in 2003 during the traditional parade that is held every year at the start of the Altın Portakal Film Festival. In light of the ongoing global economic crisis, concern has been increasing over the future of film festivals.
After the Kars Municipality announced that its annual Festival on Wheels would “not be held for sometime” due to financial hurdles, the Culture and Tourism Ministry allocated only half the amount of last year's budget to this year's Altın Koza International Film Festival in Adana, which wrapped up last weekend. Now all eyes are turned to another southern city, Antalya, wondering whether Turkey's longest-running film festival, the Altın Portakal (Golden Orange), will also feel the impact of the global crisis.
After parting ways with the İstanbul-based Turkish Foundation for Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (TÜRSAK), the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Arts (AKSAV) will organize this year's Altın Portakal festival on its own for the first time. Film critic Vecdi Sayar, the newly appointed director of the festival, spoke with Today's Zaman about the current and future plans for Altın Portakal.
As someone who has had different roles in many film festivals, what kinds of changes do you plan to make to Altın Portakal?
Taking into account the Altın Portakal Film Festival's 46-year-old legacy, we want the festival's national competition to have more of a priority. We will keep the international competition [held on the sidelines of Altın Portakal as a separate film festival known as the International Eurasia Film Festival, launched in 2005], but redevelop its structure. We plan to release more details in the near future, but I can tell you now that Eurasia will not be the main theme of the international competition. I plan to keep it as a non-competitive program within the main festival. The [Eurasia] Film Market is also not on our agenda right now. Instead of a virtual film market, we plan on focusing more on operational activities.
When new Antalya Mayor Mustafa Akaydın ascended to the post following the local elections, he hinted that the festival might shrink but that it would be open to the public. What efforts are being made to open the festival to the public?
I think that announcement hinted not at contraction but at growth. Real growth should be about quality not quantity. Last year, 1,500 guests were invited. I think that was an overextension and certainly believe a reduction in terms of numbers is necessary. In recent years, I have been hearing complaints that the festival has moved away from the people, that attendees are unable to enter theaters because there are too many guests and that opportunities for attendees to meet artists were not enough. I wouldn't want to say anything definite without obtaining data, but we have plans to screen films in many theaters across the city to enable a wide segment of society to have access to the festival and to increase the number of activities that will allow people to meet artists.
What kind of impact will separating from TÜRSAK, of which you were a founding member, have on the festival? There are concerns that the bar will be lowered.
I don't think the bar was raised too high. But certainly, we will preserve the beneficial aspects TÜRSAK has brought to the festival and the universal standards required for an international film festival. It is clear that neither the mayor nor I will choose the easy way or bring the issue down to populism. The Antalya Altın Portakal festival deserves to be among the most well-regarded and serious film festivals in the world.
How will disagreement between the local administration and the government affect the festival's gains in coming years?
There should not be a disagreement. The Antalya film festival is the oldest film festival in our country. It plays an important role in promoting our country, as it does in promoting Turkish cinema. A stable routine is necessary in order to improve its prestige and regard on the international level, and this requires serious resources. In addition to the Antalya Municipality, the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Prime Ministry Promotion Fund must continuously extend their support. We must reach a level of maturity so that our festivals, like those in other parts of the world, will not be affected by political changes.
What will the future of the International Eurasia Film Festival be? Will we continue to see world-renowned figures in Antalya?
Instead of having two film festivals simultaneously, Altın Portakal [which was solely a national film festival since its inception] will now have national and international competition and non-competitive programs. And certainly, we will invite outstanding actors and film directors from around the world. Paying Hollywood stars to come to the festival is not the only way to preserve the festival's international recognition.
What plans or ideas do you have about the controversial selection of jury members in the festival?
We are still deliberating on this. Let me say, though, that we will have an approach that complies with universal criteria used in many parts of the world.
Is the schedule of the festival clear?
We plan on keeping the previously scheduled dates, between Oct. 1 and 8. Our mayor will make the official announcement about the date and main aspects of the program at a later date.
20 June 2009, Saturday | ALİ KOCA İSTANBUL from Today's Zaman
Well-known Turkish screen actors and actresses salute residents of Antalya in 2003 during the traditional parade that is held every year at the start of the Altın Portakal Film Festival. In light of the ongoing global economic crisis, concern has been increasing over the future of film festivals.
After the Kars Municipality announced that its annual Festival on Wheels would “not be held for sometime” due to financial hurdles, the Culture and Tourism Ministry allocated only half the amount of last year's budget to this year's Altın Koza International Film Festival in Adana, which wrapped up last weekend. Now all eyes are turned to another southern city, Antalya, wondering whether Turkey's longest-running film festival, the Altın Portakal (Golden Orange), will also feel the impact of the global crisis.
After parting ways with the İstanbul-based Turkish Foundation for Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (TÜRSAK), the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Arts (AKSAV) will organize this year's Altın Portakal festival on its own for the first time. Film critic Vecdi Sayar, the newly appointed director of the festival, spoke with Today's Zaman about the current and future plans for Altın Portakal.
As someone who has had different roles in many film festivals, what kinds of changes do you plan to make to Altın Portakal?
Taking into account the Altın Portakal Film Festival's 46-year-old legacy, we want the festival's national competition to have more of a priority. We will keep the international competition [held on the sidelines of Altın Portakal as a separate film festival known as the International Eurasia Film Festival, launched in 2005], but redevelop its structure. We plan to release more details in the near future, but I can tell you now that Eurasia will not be the main theme of the international competition. I plan to keep it as a non-competitive program within the main festival. The [Eurasia] Film Market is also not on our agenda right now. Instead of a virtual film market, we plan on focusing more on operational activities.
When new Antalya Mayor Mustafa Akaydın ascended to the post following the local elections, he hinted that the festival might shrink but that it would be open to the public. What efforts are being made to open the festival to the public?
I think that announcement hinted not at contraction but at growth. Real growth should be about quality not quantity. Last year, 1,500 guests were invited. I think that was an overextension and certainly believe a reduction in terms of numbers is necessary. In recent years, I have been hearing complaints that the festival has moved away from the people, that attendees are unable to enter theaters because there are too many guests and that opportunities for attendees to meet artists were not enough. I wouldn't want to say anything definite without obtaining data, but we have plans to screen films in many theaters across the city to enable a wide segment of society to have access to the festival and to increase the number of activities that will allow people to meet artists.
What kind of impact will separating from TÜRSAK, of which you were a founding member, have on the festival? There are concerns that the bar will be lowered.
I don't think the bar was raised too high. But certainly, we will preserve the beneficial aspects TÜRSAK has brought to the festival and the universal standards required for an international film festival. It is clear that neither the mayor nor I will choose the easy way or bring the issue down to populism. The Antalya Altın Portakal festival deserves to be among the most well-regarded and serious film festivals in the world.
How will disagreement between the local administration and the government affect the festival's gains in coming years?
There should not be a disagreement. The Antalya film festival is the oldest film festival in our country. It plays an important role in promoting our country, as it does in promoting Turkish cinema. A stable routine is necessary in order to improve its prestige and regard on the international level, and this requires serious resources. In addition to the Antalya Municipality, the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Prime Ministry Promotion Fund must continuously extend their support. We must reach a level of maturity so that our festivals, like those in other parts of the world, will not be affected by political changes.
What will the future of the International Eurasia Film Festival be? Will we continue to see world-renowned figures in Antalya?
Instead of having two film festivals simultaneously, Altın Portakal [which was solely a national film festival since its inception] will now have national and international competition and non-competitive programs. And certainly, we will invite outstanding actors and film directors from around the world. Paying Hollywood stars to come to the festival is not the only way to preserve the festival's international recognition.
What plans or ideas do you have about the controversial selection of jury members in the festival?
We are still deliberating on this. Let me say, though, that we will have an approach that complies with universal criteria used in many parts of the world.
Is the schedule of the festival clear?
We plan on keeping the previously scheduled dates, between Oct. 1 and 8. Our mayor will make the official announcement about the date and main aspects of the program at a later date.
20 June 2009, Saturday | ALİ KOCA İSTANBUL from Today's Zaman
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Goldan Boll | Altin Koza National Competition Jury | 2009
Nuri Bilge Ceylan - President The Jury
He was born in İstanbul in 1959.
He studied at the Department of Chemistry in İstanbul Technical University; however, he had to leave the school after two years because of the political chaos of that period.
In 1978, he started to study at the Department of Electrical Engineering in Bosphorus University. After graduating from Bosphorus University, he studied cinema in Mimar Sinan University for two years.
He started his cinema career as a director with his short movie, Koza (Cocoon), which was also screened at the competition of Cannes Film Festival in 1995.
He shot his first feature film, Kasaba (The Small Town), which was a story being composed of three episodes composed of pastoral and autobiographic stories. Kasaba was shown in many international festivals including Berlin Film Festival. His second feature film dated 1999, Mayıs Sıkıntısı (Clouds of May), was selected to the competition in Berlin Film Festival.
With his third film ”Uzak” (Distant) he won the Grand Prix and Best actor Award at 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s next film was “İklimler” (Climates) which won the FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
Competing at the 61st Cannes Film Festival with his 2008 film ÜÇ MAYMUN (Three Monkeys), Nuri Bilge won the Best Director award. ÜÇ MAYMUN later went on to become the first Turkish film to make the Oscar shortlist in the Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category.
In 2009, he returned to Cannes, this time as a member of the main competition jury.
Filmleri / Filmography
2008 Üç Maymun
2006 İklimler
2002 Uzak
1999 Mayıs Sıkıntısı
1997 Kasaba
1995 Koza (Kısa film)
Bulut Aras
He was born in Yukarı Şamlı Willage of Denizli in 1953. After he had garduated from Denizli Commerce High School, he studied at Commerce Academy of the Marmara University. He was selected as the first in the Cinema, Pictorial and TV Contest which was organized by The Tercuman Newspaper.
He started to act in the film of “Hain” in 1976. He had a place in more than 50 cinema film and in more than 10 tv films. He played in many tv series in 90s. His last film he had played was “Büyük Şeytan Üçgeni” was directed by Yücel Ünlü. The films in which he played and some important films in Turkish Cinema History.
Sultan (1978) , Tatlı Nigar (1978), Minik Serçe (1979), Derya Gülü (1979), Toprağın Teri (1981), Bir Zamanlar Kardeştiler (1983), Kahreden Kurşun (1983), Öç (1984), Kabadayı (1986), Sahibini Arayan Madalya (1989), Kiralık Kadın (2000)...
Bulut Aras is married and he has a son named Onur Destan. He is the 17th Founder member of Cinema Players Assosication (SODER) and he is still member of Comtemporary Cinema Players Assosication(CASOD).
Füruzan
Füruzan won the 1972 Sait Faik Story Prize for her very first work, Parasız Yatılı. She is a self-taught author; after elementary school she had no formal education. Her original and attractive use of the stream-of-conciousness technique and her spectrum of striking characters have made her a remarkable name among the contemporary Turkish short story writers. The plight of helpless women, middle-class families fallen on hard times, refugees victimized because of their “otherness” are her major themes. Füruzan is noted for her deep exploration of characters and a narrative style based on telling detail. In 1975 she was invited to Berlin under the DAAD program and remained there for a year interviewing workers and artists. Her work “Benim Sinemalarım-My Cinemas” was screened during Cannes International Film Festival and awarded at Iranian Fecr Festival and Tokyo Film Festival in 1991. Her work has been translated into several foreign languages. She is the honorary author of Istanbul TUYAP Book Fair 2008.
Story: Parasız Yatılı (1971), Kuşatma (1972), Benim Sinemalarım (1973), Gül Mevsimidir (uzun öykü, 1973), Gecenin Öteki Yüzü (1982), Sevda Dolu Bir Yaz (1999).
Novel: Kırk Yedi’liler (1974), Berlin’in Nar Çiçeği (1988).
Interview: Yeni Konuklar (1977).
Travel book: Evsahipleri (1981), Balkan Yolcusu (1994).
Play: Redife’ye Güzelleme (1981), Kış Gelmeden (1997).
Childrens book: Die Kinder der Türkei (1979, Türkiye Çocukları).
Poetry: Lodoslar Kenti (1991).
Yaşantı: Füruzan Diye Bir Öykü (Hazırlayan: Faruk Şüyün, 2008).
Mazlum Çimen
He was born in the willage of Sevdilli Elbistan/Kahramanmaraş in 1958. He graduated from Selahattin Karakaşlı Primary School in Anadolu Hisarı Kavacık.
He entered Violin Department of State Consarvatuary 4 years later, he entered the Ballet Department of the same school. He graduated in 1981 and started to work as a Ballet in Istanbul Satete Ballet and Opera Hause.
He started his musical works when he was child by playing Baglama (A local Instrument), he went on his musical works by selecting Turkus from Anatolia. Later he started to compose his own songs at the very beginning of 80s. He started to compose film musics with the support of İhsan Yüce, but he got his biggest support from Onat Kutlar.
“Aysarın Zilleri” (The Bells of Aysar) was his 1st work. Then He composed "Mem u Zin" much more willingly. In turns, “Soğuk Geceler" (Cold Nihgts), "Hollywood Kaçakları", "Işıklar Sönmesin", "Nazım Hikmet Ziyaretçin Var, "Gönlümdeki Köşk Olmasa”, "Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk”, "Oyun", "Son Cellat”, "Umut" .He composed for films, tv series and documentaries. He composed the theatre musics, "Yunus Emre" (1989 Diyarbakır State Theatre), "Ferhat ve Şirin" (İstanbul City Theatre).
He got 3 Golden Boll, 4 Golden Orange,1 Ankara Hititís Sun Best Film Music Prize, 1 Orhan Murat Arıburnu Prize, 1 Swiss Prize and he got Best Film Music Prize in 2008 Montpellier/France Film Festival. He has totally 14 Best Film Music Awards, he has gotten every Best Film Music Award which he has been nominated.
He played in "Hababam Sınıfı Güle Güle"(Bye Bye Hababam Classroom), "Hoşçakal Yarın"(Good bye Tomorrow), "Gönlümdeki Köşk Olmasa"(What if I didnít have that Pavilion in my hearth), "Anlat İstanbul"(Tell me, Istanbul), "Son Cellat"(The Last Hangman), "Umut"(The Hope) films.
Meltem Cumbul
After having graduated from drama school in İstanbul, Meltem Cumbul began her career in London at the age of 21. On her return from Londan, she hosted 150 episodes of the game show Card Sharks during the years 1993-94. Her main passion being drama, in the same years she acted as the Lead actress in Marguerite Duras’ play “Lyrics of Farewell”. She then both produced and directed Arnold Wesker’s “Four Seasons’’. Because she thought that acting in movies is different from Theatre, she did not prefer leading roles and she acted as supporting actress in her first full-lengt films, Sinan Çetin’s ‘’Mr.E’’ and Ümit Elçi’s “Insect’’.
In the same year, the fukk-length film Barış Pirhasan’s “Isaac’s Story’’ hosted her as supporting actress. In 1997, she was the leading actress in the musical “Tell, Scheherazade, Tell” and Umut Turagay’s full-lenght film “Mixed Pizza’’, in which she played a ruthless female cutthroat. The year 1999 saw her as the leading actress of Sinan Çetin’s “Propaganda’’ in which she wrote her own lines and in the Iranian director Houchang Allahyari’s film “Geboren in Absurditan”, where she acted in german despite not speaking the language. She also began acting in the TV serial drama “Yılan Hikayesi” which to this date holds the title of having the highest ratings in the history of Turkish television.
She was leading actress in Yalçın Yelence’s film “The Trial”. In 2001, she sportted the experimental modern dans troupe MDT in their performance “Travelogue” and was the starring actress in the film “Maruf” by Serdar Akar. She won the Golden Orange Prize for Best Leading Actress in the International Antalya Film Festival, with her rendition of a fictional female character depicting the tumultous times of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid in Ziya Öztan’s “Abdülhamit Düşerken”. In 2003, she was the guest starring actress in Fatih Akın’s “Gegen Die Wand” which won the Golden Bear Prize for Best Film in Berlinale. She was the leading actress in “The Taming of the Shrew” which had become the most successful Shakespeare rendition that is put on stage by İstanbul Municipality Theatres in Turkey in 2004. Recently she played in “Comedy of Miracles”, a musical she takes part in as the leading actress again in “Lovelorn” where she shares the head roles with actor Şener Şen.
Özcan Alper
Özcan Alper was born in Hopa, Artvin in 1975. After he had studied in Physic Departmant of Science Faculty in Istanbul University between 1992-1996 years, he continued his education in Science History Department in Faculty of Letters in Istanbul University. Then, he was graduated in 2003. He joined MKM cinema workshop between 1996 - 1999 years and cinema seminary of Nazım Culture Center and workshop between 1999-2001. He took a directory prize with documentary film with 25 minutes documentary which was “Rapsody and Melancoly in Tokai City” in 2005 in Japan. He took Jury Special Prize in International Friendship Film Festival (2005). In 2004, he was awarded with continuity writer and directory prizes with 60 minutes documentary film which was called “Voyage In Time With a Scientist”. In 2001, he was awarded with directory and writer awards with a 25 minutes short film that was called “MOMI/Grand Mother” and he took special sight prize from International Yerevan Short Film Festival in 2002. His first feature film he directed, SONBAHAR, was awarded 3 three times including The Best Film in 15th International Golden Boll Film and The Film also got The Art & Essay Cicae Prize in 61st Locarno Film Festival, 7 prize including The Best Film in 20th Ankara International Film Festival, 4 prize including The Best Film in SIYAD Awards, The Best First Film Prize in Yeşilçam Awards, Silver Prometus Prize in Tiflis Film Festival, Netpac Jury Prize in International Eurasia Film Festival. He also got many prizes in International and national film festivals.
Filmleri / Filmography:
2008 Sonbahar
2005 Tokai City’de Rapsodi ve Melankoli (Belgesel / Documentary)
2004 Bir Bilim Adamıyla Zaman Enlem’inde Yolculuk (Belgesel / Documentary)
2001 MOMİ / Büyükanne (Kısa Film/Short Film)
Özgü Namal
She was born in İstanbul in 1978. She studied at Uskudar Cumhuriyet High School and Theatre Department of Istanbul Universty State Consarvatory. She took acting and dancing courses.
She got her first role in the play named APACIK in Theatre Fora in 2001. She had roles in Play It Again Sam (2001), Taraf Tutmak (2003), Kiralık Oyun 2005), Yan Etkili Konuşmalar (2007).
She got Best Actres Prize in the category of Comedy with her role in Kiralık Oyun in the Afife Theatre Awards and Sadri Alışık Theatre Awards.
She played in TV Films named Havada Bulut (2003), Kerem, Bir Filiz Vardı. She was hostess in tv programs named Koca Kafalar and Güldür Bakalım, she also played in many tv series and advertisement.
She started her movie career with the film “Sır Çocukları” the director of which was Ümit Cin Güven in 2002. She got the Best Promising Actress Awards with this film in National Competition Part of the 14th International Ankara Film Festival.
She acted in many cinema films and won awards. The films she acted in are Büyü (2004), Anlat İstanbul (2005), Organiz İşler (2005), Beynemilel (2006), Polis (2007), Mutluluk (2007), O… Çocukları (2008) ve İncir Çekirdeği(2009).
She got the Best Actrees Awards with her performance in Beynelmilel in İstanbul Film Festival in 2007.
She got the Best Actrees Awards with her acting character of Meryem in the film “Mutluluk” which Abdullah Oğuz directed, in many festivals such as Altın Portakal Film Festival, Siyad Awards, Beyaz İnci Awards, Oxfords Film Festival and Pune Film Festival.
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Uğur İçbak
He was born in Manisa on 31st of December in 1963. He entered the Mimar Sinan University Cinema-Tv Center as a guest student, but later he graduated from the same school as the real student. He spent his Assistantship Phase with foreign image directors who were shooting long measurements films in Turkey.
When his succes, in short films he shot as image director, was realized at once, he channelled to Cinema and Advertisemnt sector. His interest to aviation met Cinema and after he got his special Pilot licence, he realized many foreign and local Projects air shootings.
Uğur İçbak has shooted 13 Long mesurement Films most of Which would be milestone for Turkish Cinema History many advertisemnts and many clips for songs. With The long measurements films which he directed when he was still student, he was awarded 2 times in The Best Cinematography in Golden Orange and 1time in SIYAD Awards (Cinema Writers Association).
Uğur İçbak attends courses in Türsak Foundation as a tutor and gives applied lessons on “Illumuniation Techniques” regularly. He also works as an instructor in Mimar Sinan University Cinema and Tv Department. He teaches “Shooting and After Shooting Techniques” and he also opens workshops in varied universities Cinema Department.
Görüntü Yönetmenliğini yaptığı uzun metrajlı filmler;
2009 NEŞELİ HAYAT
2008 OSMANLI CUMHURİYETİ
2006 HOKKABAZ
2005 ORGANİZE İŞLER
2003 VİZONTELE-TUUBA
2000 HEMŞO
1999 KAHPE BİZANS
1998 HOŞÇAKAL YARIN
1996 EŞKIYA
1995 İSTANBUL KANATLARIMIN ALTINDA
1994 İZ
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Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tül Akbal Sualp
She has been teaching cinema, media and cultural studies in various Universities in Istanbul and gave lectures at Humbold University in Berlin as a visiting Professor last year. She recently has become the faculty member of Cinema and TV Department at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. She has her BA degree in Psychology and studied Political Science, Cinema Studies and Sociology (Cultural Studies) in New York and İstanbul in MA and PhD levels. She has been writing articles on cultural studies, cinema and critical theory in some journals and the editor of Kültür ve Toplum 1/ Culture and the Society 1, (Hil, 1995), Oyun/ Play (2002) and the author of the book titled ZamanMekan: Kuram ve Sinema/TimeSpace: Theory and Cinema (Bağlam 2004) and co-author of the short fiction: Wanting Book Odd Notebook. (MudamCamp de Base & :mentalKLİNİK, 2004) and also co-author of the book titled From Liberties To Losses and Afterwards (De-Ki 2008) Her recent research interest includes «space and time in cinema and culture », « urban space and cinema », and « technology culture and public sphere»
He was born in İstanbul in 1959.
He studied at the Department of Chemistry in İstanbul Technical University; however, he had to leave the school after two years because of the political chaos of that period.
In 1978, he started to study at the Department of Electrical Engineering in Bosphorus University. After graduating from Bosphorus University, he studied cinema in Mimar Sinan University for two years.
He started his cinema career as a director with his short movie, Koza (Cocoon), which was also screened at the competition of Cannes Film Festival in 1995.
He shot his first feature film, Kasaba (The Small Town), which was a story being composed of three episodes composed of pastoral and autobiographic stories. Kasaba was shown in many international festivals including Berlin Film Festival. His second feature film dated 1999, Mayıs Sıkıntısı (Clouds of May), was selected to the competition in Berlin Film Festival.
With his third film ”Uzak” (Distant) he won the Grand Prix and Best actor Award at 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s next film was “İklimler” (Climates) which won the FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
Competing at the 61st Cannes Film Festival with his 2008 film ÜÇ MAYMUN (Three Monkeys), Nuri Bilge won the Best Director award. ÜÇ MAYMUN later went on to become the first Turkish film to make the Oscar shortlist in the Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category.
In 2009, he returned to Cannes, this time as a member of the main competition jury.
Filmleri / Filmography
2008 Üç Maymun
2006 İklimler
2002 Uzak
1999 Mayıs Sıkıntısı
1997 Kasaba
1995 Koza (Kısa film)
Bulut Aras
He was born in Yukarı Şamlı Willage of Denizli in 1953. After he had garduated from Denizli Commerce High School, he studied at Commerce Academy of the Marmara University. He was selected as the first in the Cinema, Pictorial and TV Contest which was organized by The Tercuman Newspaper.
He started to act in the film of “Hain” in 1976. He had a place in more than 50 cinema film and in more than 10 tv films. He played in many tv series in 90s. His last film he had played was “Büyük Şeytan Üçgeni” was directed by Yücel Ünlü. The films in which he played and some important films in Turkish Cinema History.
Sultan (1978) , Tatlı Nigar (1978), Minik Serçe (1979), Derya Gülü (1979), Toprağın Teri (1981), Bir Zamanlar Kardeştiler (1983), Kahreden Kurşun (1983), Öç (1984), Kabadayı (1986), Sahibini Arayan Madalya (1989), Kiralık Kadın (2000)...
Bulut Aras is married and he has a son named Onur Destan. He is the 17th Founder member of Cinema Players Assosication (SODER) and he is still member of Comtemporary Cinema Players Assosication(CASOD).
Füruzan
Füruzan won the 1972 Sait Faik Story Prize for her very first work, Parasız Yatılı. She is a self-taught author; after elementary school she had no formal education. Her original and attractive use of the stream-of-conciousness technique and her spectrum of striking characters have made her a remarkable name among the contemporary Turkish short story writers. The plight of helpless women, middle-class families fallen on hard times, refugees victimized because of their “otherness” are her major themes. Füruzan is noted for her deep exploration of characters and a narrative style based on telling detail. In 1975 she was invited to Berlin under the DAAD program and remained there for a year interviewing workers and artists. Her work “Benim Sinemalarım-My Cinemas” was screened during Cannes International Film Festival and awarded at Iranian Fecr Festival and Tokyo Film Festival in 1991. Her work has been translated into several foreign languages. She is the honorary author of Istanbul TUYAP Book Fair 2008.
Story: Parasız Yatılı (1971), Kuşatma (1972), Benim Sinemalarım (1973), Gül Mevsimidir (uzun öykü, 1973), Gecenin Öteki Yüzü (1982), Sevda Dolu Bir Yaz (1999).
Novel: Kırk Yedi’liler (1974), Berlin’in Nar Çiçeği (1988).
Interview: Yeni Konuklar (1977).
Travel book: Evsahipleri (1981), Balkan Yolcusu (1994).
Play: Redife’ye Güzelleme (1981), Kış Gelmeden (1997).
Childrens book: Die Kinder der Türkei (1979, Türkiye Çocukları).
Poetry: Lodoslar Kenti (1991).
Yaşantı: Füruzan Diye Bir Öykü (Hazırlayan: Faruk Şüyün, 2008).
Mazlum Çimen
He was born in the willage of Sevdilli Elbistan/Kahramanmaraş in 1958. He graduated from Selahattin Karakaşlı Primary School in Anadolu Hisarı Kavacık.
He entered Violin Department of State Consarvatuary 4 years later, he entered the Ballet Department of the same school. He graduated in 1981 and started to work as a Ballet in Istanbul Satete Ballet and Opera Hause.
He started his musical works when he was child by playing Baglama (A local Instrument), he went on his musical works by selecting Turkus from Anatolia. Later he started to compose his own songs at the very beginning of 80s. He started to compose film musics with the support of İhsan Yüce, but he got his biggest support from Onat Kutlar.
“Aysarın Zilleri” (The Bells of Aysar) was his 1st work. Then He composed "Mem u Zin" much more willingly. In turns, “Soğuk Geceler" (Cold Nihgts), "Hollywood Kaçakları", "Işıklar Sönmesin", "Nazım Hikmet Ziyaretçin Var, "Gönlümdeki Köşk Olmasa”, "Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk”, "Oyun", "Son Cellat”, "Umut" .He composed for films, tv series and documentaries. He composed the theatre musics, "Yunus Emre" (1989 Diyarbakır State Theatre), "Ferhat ve Şirin" (İstanbul City Theatre).
He got 3 Golden Boll, 4 Golden Orange,1 Ankara Hititís Sun Best Film Music Prize, 1 Orhan Murat Arıburnu Prize, 1 Swiss Prize and he got Best Film Music Prize in 2008 Montpellier/France Film Festival. He has totally 14 Best Film Music Awards, he has gotten every Best Film Music Award which he has been nominated.
He played in "Hababam Sınıfı Güle Güle"(Bye Bye Hababam Classroom), "Hoşçakal Yarın"(Good bye Tomorrow), "Gönlümdeki Köşk Olmasa"(What if I didnít have that Pavilion in my hearth), "Anlat İstanbul"(Tell me, Istanbul), "Son Cellat"(The Last Hangman), "Umut"(The Hope) films.
Meltem Cumbul
After having graduated from drama school in İstanbul, Meltem Cumbul began her career in London at the age of 21. On her return from Londan, she hosted 150 episodes of the game show Card Sharks during the years 1993-94. Her main passion being drama, in the same years she acted as the Lead actress in Marguerite Duras’ play “Lyrics of Farewell”. She then both produced and directed Arnold Wesker’s “Four Seasons’’. Because she thought that acting in movies is different from Theatre, she did not prefer leading roles and she acted as supporting actress in her first full-lengt films, Sinan Çetin’s ‘’Mr.E’’ and Ümit Elçi’s “Insect’’.
In the same year, the fukk-length film Barış Pirhasan’s “Isaac’s Story’’ hosted her as supporting actress. In 1997, she was the leading actress in the musical “Tell, Scheherazade, Tell” and Umut Turagay’s full-lenght film “Mixed Pizza’’, in which she played a ruthless female cutthroat. The year 1999 saw her as the leading actress of Sinan Çetin’s “Propaganda’’ in which she wrote her own lines and in the Iranian director Houchang Allahyari’s film “Geboren in Absurditan”, where she acted in german despite not speaking the language. She also began acting in the TV serial drama “Yılan Hikayesi” which to this date holds the title of having the highest ratings in the history of Turkish television.
She was leading actress in Yalçın Yelence’s film “The Trial”. In 2001, she sportted the experimental modern dans troupe MDT in their performance “Travelogue” and was the starring actress in the film “Maruf” by Serdar Akar. She won the Golden Orange Prize for Best Leading Actress in the International Antalya Film Festival, with her rendition of a fictional female character depicting the tumultous times of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid in Ziya Öztan’s “Abdülhamit Düşerken”. In 2003, she was the guest starring actress in Fatih Akın’s “Gegen Die Wand” which won the Golden Bear Prize for Best Film in Berlinale. She was the leading actress in “The Taming of the Shrew” which had become the most successful Shakespeare rendition that is put on stage by İstanbul Municipality Theatres in Turkey in 2004. Recently she played in “Comedy of Miracles”, a musical she takes part in as the leading actress again in “Lovelorn” where she shares the head roles with actor Şener Şen.
Özcan Alper
Özcan Alper was born in Hopa, Artvin in 1975. After he had studied in Physic Departmant of Science Faculty in Istanbul University between 1992-1996 years, he continued his education in Science History Department in Faculty of Letters in Istanbul University. Then, he was graduated in 2003. He joined MKM cinema workshop between 1996 - 1999 years and cinema seminary of Nazım Culture Center and workshop between 1999-2001. He took a directory prize with documentary film with 25 minutes documentary which was “Rapsody and Melancoly in Tokai City” in 2005 in Japan. He took Jury Special Prize in International Friendship Film Festival (2005). In 2004, he was awarded with continuity writer and directory prizes with 60 minutes documentary film which was called “Voyage In Time With a Scientist”. In 2001, he was awarded with directory and writer awards with a 25 minutes short film that was called “MOMI/Grand Mother” and he took special sight prize from International Yerevan Short Film Festival in 2002. His first feature film he directed, SONBAHAR, was awarded 3 three times including The Best Film in 15th International Golden Boll Film and The Film also got The Art & Essay Cicae Prize in 61st Locarno Film Festival, 7 prize including The Best Film in 20th Ankara International Film Festival, 4 prize including The Best Film in SIYAD Awards, The Best First Film Prize in Yeşilçam Awards, Silver Prometus Prize in Tiflis Film Festival, Netpac Jury Prize in International Eurasia Film Festival. He also got many prizes in International and national film festivals.
Filmleri / Filmography:
2008 Sonbahar
2005 Tokai City’de Rapsodi ve Melankoli (Belgesel / Documentary)
2004 Bir Bilim Adamıyla Zaman Enlem’inde Yolculuk (Belgesel / Documentary)
2001 MOMİ / Büyükanne (Kısa Film/Short Film)
Özgü Namal
She was born in İstanbul in 1978. She studied at Uskudar Cumhuriyet High School and Theatre Department of Istanbul Universty State Consarvatory. She took acting and dancing courses.
She got her first role in the play named APACIK in Theatre Fora in 2001. She had roles in Play It Again Sam (2001), Taraf Tutmak (2003), Kiralık Oyun 2005), Yan Etkili Konuşmalar (2007).
She got Best Actres Prize in the category of Comedy with her role in Kiralık Oyun in the Afife Theatre Awards and Sadri Alışık Theatre Awards.
She played in TV Films named Havada Bulut (2003), Kerem, Bir Filiz Vardı. She was hostess in tv programs named Koca Kafalar and Güldür Bakalım, she also played in many tv series and advertisement.
She started her movie career with the film “Sır Çocukları” the director of which was Ümit Cin Güven in 2002. She got the Best Promising Actress Awards with this film in National Competition Part of the 14th International Ankara Film Festival.
She acted in many cinema films and won awards. The films she acted in are Büyü (2004), Anlat İstanbul (2005), Organiz İşler (2005), Beynemilel (2006), Polis (2007), Mutluluk (2007), O… Çocukları (2008) ve İncir Çekirdeği(2009).
She got the Best Actrees Awards with her performance in Beynelmilel in İstanbul Film Festival in 2007.
She got the Best Actrees Awards with her acting character of Meryem in the film “Mutluluk” which Abdullah Oğuz directed, in many festivals such as Altın Portakal Film Festival, Siyad Awards, Beyaz İnci Awards, Oxfords Film Festival and Pune Film Festival.
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Uğur İçbak
He was born in Manisa on 31st of December in 1963. He entered the Mimar Sinan University Cinema-Tv Center as a guest student, but later he graduated from the same school as the real student. He spent his Assistantship Phase with foreign image directors who were shooting long measurements films in Turkey.
When his succes, in short films he shot as image director, was realized at once, he channelled to Cinema and Advertisemnt sector. His interest to aviation met Cinema and after he got his special Pilot licence, he realized many foreign and local Projects air shootings.
Uğur İçbak has shooted 13 Long mesurement Films most of Which would be milestone for Turkish Cinema History many advertisemnts and many clips for songs. With The long measurements films which he directed when he was still student, he was awarded 2 times in The Best Cinematography in Golden Orange and 1time in SIYAD Awards (Cinema Writers Association).
Uğur İçbak attends courses in Türsak Foundation as a tutor and gives applied lessons on “Illumuniation Techniques” regularly. He also works as an instructor in Mimar Sinan University Cinema and Tv Department. He teaches “Shooting and After Shooting Techniques” and he also opens workshops in varied universities Cinema Department.
Görüntü Yönetmenliğini yaptığı uzun metrajlı filmler;
2009 NEŞELİ HAYAT
2008 OSMANLI CUMHURİYETİ
2006 HOKKABAZ
2005 ORGANİZE İŞLER
2003 VİZONTELE-TUUBA
2000 HEMŞO
1999 KAHPE BİZANS
1998 HOŞÇAKAL YARIN
1996 EŞKIYA
1995 İSTANBUL KANATLARIMIN ALTINDA
1994 İZ
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Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tül Akbal Sualp
She has been teaching cinema, media and cultural studies in various Universities in Istanbul and gave lectures at Humbold University in Berlin as a visiting Professor last year. She recently has become the faculty member of Cinema and TV Department at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. She has her BA degree in Psychology and studied Political Science, Cinema Studies and Sociology (Cultural Studies) in New York and İstanbul in MA and PhD levels. She has been writing articles on cultural studies, cinema and critical theory in some journals and the editor of Kültür ve Toplum 1/ Culture and the Society 1, (Hil, 1995), Oyun/ Play (2002) and the author of the book titled ZamanMekan: Kuram ve Sinema/TimeSpace: Theory and Cinema (Bağlam 2004) and co-author of the short fiction: Wanting Book Odd Notebook. (MudamCamp de Base & :mentalKLİNİK, 2004) and also co-author of the book titled From Liberties To Losses and Afterwards (De-Ki 2008) Her recent research interest includes «space and time in cinema and culture », « urban space and cinema », and « technology culture and public sphere»
Turkish films of Altın Koza (Golden Boll) Film Festival 2009
There is a wide selection of movies running for the National Competition in the Golden Boll Film Festival. The list includes films from newcomers and renowned directors. Turkey’s pride, Nuri Bilge Ceylan heads the jury.
There is an impressive selection of Turkish movies running for the National Competition in the Altın Koza (Golden Boll) Film Festival. The list includes movies that have won awards in national and international festivals, those released last year and waiting their release dates, films from newcomers and experienced directors, coming-of-age stories, and tragedies of family and love.
The jury member in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, will head the jury, which include acclaimed names like writer Füruzan, actors Özgü Namal, Bulut Aras, Meltem Cumbul, director Özcan Alper, cinematographer Uğur İçbak, and movie critic Zeynep Tül Akbal Süalp.
Little children, teachers and the bogeyman
The documentary directing duo Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doğan return with another unique film in which they blur the lines between reality and fiction. "İki Dil Bir Bavul" (On the Way to School) follows a Turkish teacher throughout the course of one school year as he tries finding ways to communicate with Kurdish children in a village. He doesn’t speak Kurdish, the children don’t speak Turkish, resulting in a unique film selected last year for the competition in the Joris Ivens Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival.
Director, writer and producer Atalay Taşdiken delves further into the world of children with his debut feature "Mommo" (Bogeyman). Inspired by real-life events, the film tells the story of 9-year-old Ali, forced to take responsibility as the elder brother to his sister, Ayşe, as the siblings are separated from their father because of a new stepmother. Mommo is the bogeyman, adding further fear to Ayşe’s unstable life. The film debuted recently in the Berlin Film Festival.
The second movie in director and writer Cemal Şan’s "Soul, Mind and Heart" trilogy, "Dilber’in Sekiz Günü" (Dilber’s Eight Days) becomes the "Soul" of the trilogy. The film takes an inspiring look at the arranged marriages in rural Turkey. Set in a village in Southeast Turkey, Dilber’s life turns upside down when she finds out that her childhood sweetheart Ali’s family set him up for an arranged marriage. In an act of desperation and frustration, Dilber announces that she’s ready to marry the first suitor that comes along. The film went on to win various awards in national film festivals, including for two of its actors, Nesrin Cavadzade and Fırat Tanış.
Last year, "Vicdan" (Conscience) marked the return and the jubilee of one of Turkish cinema’s masters, Erden Kıral, who brought us such classics like "Dilan," "Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim" (A Season in Hakkari) and "Mavi Sürgün" (The Blue Exile) in the past. The film was inspired by the third page news of newspapers, focusing on scandal, family tragedies and sexual escapades gone wrong in Turkey’s lower class. "Vicdan" takes us to a small town, to the impending doom of a love triangle. Both actresses have won prestigious awards, with Nurgül Yeşilçay bringing home the Best Actress award in the Golden Oranges while Tülin Özen won the Turkish Film Critics' Association award for Best Supporting Actress.
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun’s debut film "Uzak İhtimal" (Wrong Rosary) meets the audience hot on the heels of winning the Tiger Award given to the Best Film in the Rotterdam Film Festival. What’s more impressive is that the film was the first Turkish film to compete at the festival. The film tells the moving story of a love between a müezzin (caller of daily prayer for Muslims), and a prospective nun, and their friendship with an elderly bookseller in Istanbul.
Known for his work on TV, Murat Düzgünoğlu enters the competition with his debut feature, "Hayatın Tuzu" (The Salt of Life). The film tells the story of a widow living in the eastern city of Bitlis, and her relations with her four adult children who are too attached to her for their own good. The events unfold as when the fourth child returns from Istanbul to join his siblings, an imam, a worker in a tobacco factory and a student. The film won the Special Jury prize in the recent İpek Yolu Film Festival in Bursa.
Between city and village
Adapted from novelist Hasan Ali Toptaş’s award-winning cult novel "Gölgesizler" (The Shadowless), experienced writer and director Ümit Ünal turns an Anatolian village into a dreamscape with its bizarre characters and intricate relations. A barber working in Istanbul longs to be "both here and far, far away." And one day, abruptly, he takes off, and travels far away, to a village that is nowhere and at no time.
There is an impressive selection of Turkish movies running for the National Competition in the Altın Koza (Golden Boll) Film Festival. The list includes movies that have won awards in national and international festivals, those released last year and waiting their release dates, films from newcomers and experienced directors, coming-of-age stories, and tragedies of family and love.
The jury member in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, will head the jury, which include acclaimed names like writer Füruzan, actors Özgü Namal, Bulut Aras, Meltem Cumbul, director Özcan Alper, cinematographer Uğur İçbak, and movie critic Zeynep Tül Akbal Süalp.
Little children, teachers and the bogeyman
The documentary directing duo Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doğan return with another unique film in which they blur the lines between reality and fiction. "İki Dil Bir Bavul" (On the Way to School) follows a Turkish teacher throughout the course of one school year as he tries finding ways to communicate with Kurdish children in a village. He doesn’t speak Kurdish, the children don’t speak Turkish, resulting in a unique film selected last year for the competition in the Joris Ivens Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival.
Director, writer and producer Atalay Taşdiken delves further into the world of children with his debut feature "Mommo" (Bogeyman). Inspired by real-life events, the film tells the story of 9-year-old Ali, forced to take responsibility as the elder brother to his sister, Ayşe, as the siblings are separated from their father because of a new stepmother. Mommo is the bogeyman, adding further fear to Ayşe’s unstable life. The film debuted recently in the Berlin Film Festival.
The second movie in director and writer Cemal Şan’s "Soul, Mind and Heart" trilogy, "Dilber’in Sekiz Günü" (Dilber’s Eight Days) becomes the "Soul" of the trilogy. The film takes an inspiring look at the arranged marriages in rural Turkey. Set in a village in Southeast Turkey, Dilber’s life turns upside down when she finds out that her childhood sweetheart Ali’s family set him up for an arranged marriage. In an act of desperation and frustration, Dilber announces that she’s ready to marry the first suitor that comes along. The film went on to win various awards in national film festivals, including for two of its actors, Nesrin Cavadzade and Fırat Tanış.
Last year, "Vicdan" (Conscience) marked the return and the jubilee of one of Turkish cinema’s masters, Erden Kıral, who brought us such classics like "Dilan," "Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim" (A Season in Hakkari) and "Mavi Sürgün" (The Blue Exile) in the past. The film was inspired by the third page news of newspapers, focusing on scandal, family tragedies and sexual escapades gone wrong in Turkey’s lower class. "Vicdan" takes us to a small town, to the impending doom of a love triangle. Both actresses have won prestigious awards, with Nurgül Yeşilçay bringing home the Best Actress award in the Golden Oranges while Tülin Özen won the Turkish Film Critics' Association award for Best Supporting Actress.
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun’s debut film "Uzak İhtimal" (Wrong Rosary) meets the audience hot on the heels of winning the Tiger Award given to the Best Film in the Rotterdam Film Festival. What’s more impressive is that the film was the first Turkish film to compete at the festival. The film tells the moving story of a love between a müezzin (caller of daily prayer for Muslims), and a prospective nun, and their friendship with an elderly bookseller in Istanbul.
Known for his work on TV, Murat Düzgünoğlu enters the competition with his debut feature, "Hayatın Tuzu" (The Salt of Life). The film tells the story of a widow living in the eastern city of Bitlis, and her relations with her four adult children who are too attached to her for their own good. The events unfold as when the fourth child returns from Istanbul to join his siblings, an imam, a worker in a tobacco factory and a student. The film won the Special Jury prize in the recent İpek Yolu Film Festival in Bursa.
Between city and village
Adapted from novelist Hasan Ali Toptaş’s award-winning cult novel "Gölgesizler" (The Shadowless), experienced writer and director Ümit Ünal turns an Anatolian village into a dreamscape with its bizarre characters and intricate relations. A barber working in Istanbul longs to be "both here and far, far away." And one day, abruptly, he takes off, and travels far away, to a village that is nowhere and at no time.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
16th Altın Koza International Film Festival goes to School
"ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL" is at 16th Altın Koza International Film Festival in Adana (www.altinkozafestivali.org.tr) on 8-14 June 2009. The film has been selected for National Competition.
Orhan Eskikoy Born in 1980, Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from the Department of Public Relations, Faculty of Communication, Ankara University in 2004. The films which he produced at the university have been successful in many national and international festivals. At the same time he has worked in different projects as assistant of director and cameraman. He worked at the Centre of Distance Education as a Video Production Expert between 2005-2007.
Gn. Zeki Doğan Mah. 12. Sok. No: 26/1
Mamak-ANKARA / TURKEY
Fax: + 90 312 210 35 90
e-mail: perisanfilm@gmail.com
URL: http://www.perisanfilm.com
Ozgur Dogan Born in 1977, Varto, Turkey. He graduated from the Department of Radio-TV and Cinema, Faculty of Communication, Ankara University in 2001. He is working as a Research Assistant at the Middle East Technical University and working on documentary video production independently.
Filmography
- Each Dream is a Shattered Mirror (2001 - 32 min.)
- Mothers and Children (2004 - 28 min.)
- Suffering (2004 - 46 min.)
- Together (2006 - 36min.)
Zeynel Dogan Born in 1977, Varto, Turkey. He graduated from the Department of Radio-TV and Cinema, Faculty of Communication, Ankara University in 2001. He is working as a Research Assistant at the Middle East Technical University and working on documentary video production independently.
FESTIVALS
- Edinburgh International Film Festival | 17-28 June 2009 http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/whats-on/2009/on-the-way-to-school
- 16th Altın Koza International Film Festival in Adana | 8-14 June 2009 http://www.altinkozafestivali.org.tr
- Planete Doc Review | 8-17 May 2009 http://www.docreview.pl/2009/
- 28th International İstanbul Film Festival | 4-19 April 2009 www.iksv.org/film/english
- Movies that Matter Festival | 2-8 April 2009 www.amnestyfilmfestival.nl
- Nicosia International Documentary Film Festival | 24 - 29 March 2009 http://www.cyprusdocfest.org
- 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival | 13 - 22 March 2009 www.filmfestival.gr
- ZagrebDox - International Documentary Film Festival | 23 February - 1 March 2009 www.zagrebdox.net
- 21st IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) | 20-30 November 2008 www.idfa.nl
Gn. Zeki Doğan Mah. 12. Sok. No: 26/1
Mamak-ANKARA / TURKEY
Fax: + 90 312 210 35 90
e-mail: perisanfilm@gmail.com
URL: http://www.perisanfilm.com
'On the Way to School' Where did these boys come from?
İKİ DİL BİR BAVUL| 'On the Way to School'
The young Turkish teacher Emre works at a school in an isolated Kurdish village in the South-East of Turkey. Emre's initial enthusiasm quickly turns into frustration and loneliness. The teacher only speaks Turkish whereas the students only understand Kurdish.
Credits
Director: Orhan Eskikoy, Özgür Dogan Photography: Orhan Eskikoy Screenplay: Orhan EskikoyEditing: Orhan Eskikoy, Thomas BalkenholSound: Özgür Dogan Production: Özgür Dogan for Peri-san FilmCo-production Pieter van Huystee Film World SalesPeri-san FilmSales Contact : Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film, Özgür Dogan for Peri-san Film
You can watch the film’s trailer and get more information at: www.perisanfilm.com/school.
'On the Way to School' Where did these boys come from?
28 November 2008, Friday | EMİNE YILDIRIM AMSTERDAM
Perhaps the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will not ring a bell for your average film buff, but those in the global film industry know that it is by far the mother of all creative documentary film festivals.
Furthermore, this year’s festival should have a special meaning for Turkey since, for the first time in the event’s history, a Turkish film is competing in the Joris Ivens competition for feature length documentaries.
For the Ankara-based, fresh-faced directing duo Özgür Doğan and Orhan Eskiköy, their “İki Dil Bir Bavul” (“On the Way to School”) has been a relentless journey of hard work and patience spanning over three years. Watching their film’s premiere Wednesday at Amsterdam’s historic art-deco Tuchinski theatre, I’m more than happy to say that their efforts have not been in vain. The film is a simple and profound piece of work that depicts the one-year journey of the 20-something primary school teacher Emre Aydın from the western city of Denizli who has been appointed to teach in southeastern Urfa’s remote Kurdish village of Demirci. Here’s the catch: Aydın, who cannot speak Kurdish, will have to teach Turkish to a classroom of kids who do not speak a word of the state’s official language. After all, the language spoken in their homes is Kurdish, although most of the adults can speak Turkish. Aydın, being the well-intentioned epitome of the image the republic has set for teachers since its foundation, patiently struggles to bring “civilization” to the provinces by means of primarily teaching the official Turkish language. God knows Aydın tries, and the kids try (they truly love and respect their teacher) but, much like the country’s current policy in dealing with the Kurdish populace, the school year ends without much success. But how could it not? Beyond the fact that the kids speak Kurdish amongst themselves, their lives are limited in the fields of a desolate village prone to constant power cuts where water is a luxury. Except for the presence of the teacher, the state has forgotten them.
I can already hear those grumbles coming from various factions in Turkey regarding the subject matter. Let it be known from this writer that the film is by all means an observational and astute piece of work that aims to raise the right questions in forming a peaceful human dialogue based on tolerance. Nobody can deny that issues of integration, education and cultural and ethnic identity are a reality in Turkey. What “On the Way to School” does is to bring forth, without any kind of intervention, that which is currently being lived and experienced in the daily life of eastern Turkey. The filmmakers’ camera points in the right direction -- in the classroom, not the trenches.
Doğan and Eskiköy have been working together since 2001 and have a handful of award-winning short documentaries under their belt.
The results of the IDFA’s Joris Ivens competition will be announced this Saturday. In Amsterdam everyone is already buzzing about “On the Way to School,” which has already secured its place in the competition’s top 10 favorites. Still, even if Doğan and Eskiköy don’t come home with a prize from Amsterdam, they’ve already come a very long way by being showcased at the IDFA.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman following the film’s premiere in Amsterdam, there is a noticeable glitter in their eyes as they mention their own production journey and the general state of documentary filmmaking in Turkey. Eskiköy answers most of the questions, but it’s obvious that these boys are a rock solid team of two.
How did you decide to make this film?
We had a close friend who was in a similar situation. He was officially appointed as a teacher to another village in the region where the kids didn’t speak Turkish. We found his story very interesting and wanted to capture it on screen. Unfortunately, our friend preferred not to be filmed, but still the story stuck in our minds. We knew that every year new teachers were appointed to villages in the region. We located the Demirci village and waited. Luckily, Emre Aydın who had been appointed there, let us capture him on film throughout the year.
The camera is noticeably invisible throughout the film. How did you manage to get the trust of all the people on screen -- especially the children, who never seem to notice that you were filming?
Of course, before filming we introduced ourselves to everyone in the community and clearly explained what we wanted to do. After a while they got used to seeing us stick around and forgot our presence. As for the children, all of them were focused on the teacher, not the camera, since Emre, after all, was the highest authority in the classroom.
As the film shows, Emre has a frustrating experience throughout his tenure, not only due to the language problem but also as a result of the region’s destitute situation. What kind of an experience was it for you as filmmakers?
Since Özgür knows the region a lot better than I do, he wasn’t surprised. As for me, it was different and slightly shocking, since the Kurdish life that I had envisaged was not what I later saw.
The production story of the film is very interesting. You have a Dutch production partner and you’ve received funds from abroad. Could you elaborate?
We first looked for financing in Turkey. Unfortunately, we were rejected by the fund of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. But we knew we wanted to do this film and do it right. Later we were accepted to the Greenhouse feature-length documentary workshop, supported by the European Union and specifically designed for filmmakers in the Mediterranean region. This was a great opportunity. Not only did we get the chance to develop the project artistically, but we were introduced to producers, commissioning editors and representatives of documentary institutes. A lot of people started talking about and believing in the project, which was great! During this period, we applied to the IDFA’s own Jan Vrijmun Fund and the Sundance Documentary Fund, both of which we received the support of. Also, our Dutch producer, Pieter Van Huystee, came on board.
Was it easy to bring all these partners together?
Naturally it has been a great experience to work on the international level. However, the more people that are involved, the more voices there are that have a say in your project. You have to make everyone happy without forsaking your own perspective. I really wish that we could have been able to find financing in Turkey. After all, this is a film made in Turkey and we want to continue making films in our country, not somewhere else.
Speaking of Turkey, what do you think of the current state of documentary films in the country?
It’s definitely going in a positive direction. There are a lot of great projects being made, especially by the Filmist collective, which includes Berke Baş, Haşmet Topaloğlu, Somnur Vardar and Belmin Söylemez and also the Docist organization, by Necati Sönmez and Emel Çelebi, is admirable. But the real issue is that non-fiction films are still always pushed aside when fiction is mentioned. Documentary directors should be willing to stand up for their rights and not undervalue themselves; they should push for distribution and ask for copyright compensation.
Will you exhibit and maybe distribute the film in Turkey?
Hopefully, it will be shown in the İstanbul International Film Festival in 2009. But, other than that, I highly doubt that any TV channel in Turkey would show it. Our real hope is to distribute the film in cinemas abroad and locally, but transferring from digital to 35 mm prints is not a small task.
Will you be working together again? What’s your next project?
Yes we will. Right now we’re focusing on the exhibition aspect of “On the Way to School,” but we are hoping to make a feature-length fiction film in the near future.
The young Turkish teacher Emre works at a school in an isolated Kurdish village in the South-East of Turkey. Emre's initial enthusiasm quickly turns into frustration and loneliness. The teacher only speaks Turkish whereas the students only understand Kurdish.
Credits
Director: Orhan Eskikoy, Özgür Dogan Photography: Orhan Eskikoy Screenplay: Orhan EskikoyEditing: Orhan Eskikoy, Thomas BalkenholSound: Özgür Dogan Production: Özgür Dogan for Peri-san FilmCo-production Pieter van Huystee Film World SalesPeri-san FilmSales Contact : Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film, Özgür Dogan for Peri-san Film
You can watch the film’s trailer and get more information at: www.perisanfilm.com/school.
'On the Way to School' Where did these boys come from?
28 November 2008, Friday | EMİNE YILDIRIM AMSTERDAM
Perhaps the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will not ring a bell for your average film buff, but those in the global film industry know that it is by far the mother of all creative documentary film festivals.
Furthermore, this year’s festival should have a special meaning for Turkey since, for the first time in the event’s history, a Turkish film is competing in the Joris Ivens competition for feature length documentaries.
For the Ankara-based, fresh-faced directing duo Özgür Doğan and Orhan Eskiköy, their “İki Dil Bir Bavul” (“On the Way to School”) has been a relentless journey of hard work and patience spanning over three years. Watching their film’s premiere Wednesday at Amsterdam’s historic art-deco Tuchinski theatre, I’m more than happy to say that their efforts have not been in vain. The film is a simple and profound piece of work that depicts the one-year journey of the 20-something primary school teacher Emre Aydın from the western city of Denizli who has been appointed to teach in southeastern Urfa’s remote Kurdish village of Demirci. Here’s the catch: Aydın, who cannot speak Kurdish, will have to teach Turkish to a classroom of kids who do not speak a word of the state’s official language. After all, the language spoken in their homes is Kurdish, although most of the adults can speak Turkish. Aydın, being the well-intentioned epitome of the image the republic has set for teachers since its foundation, patiently struggles to bring “civilization” to the provinces by means of primarily teaching the official Turkish language. God knows Aydın tries, and the kids try (they truly love and respect their teacher) but, much like the country’s current policy in dealing with the Kurdish populace, the school year ends without much success. But how could it not? Beyond the fact that the kids speak Kurdish amongst themselves, their lives are limited in the fields of a desolate village prone to constant power cuts where water is a luxury. Except for the presence of the teacher, the state has forgotten them.
I can already hear those grumbles coming from various factions in Turkey regarding the subject matter. Let it be known from this writer that the film is by all means an observational and astute piece of work that aims to raise the right questions in forming a peaceful human dialogue based on tolerance. Nobody can deny that issues of integration, education and cultural and ethnic identity are a reality in Turkey. What “On the Way to School” does is to bring forth, without any kind of intervention, that which is currently being lived and experienced in the daily life of eastern Turkey. The filmmakers’ camera points in the right direction -- in the classroom, not the trenches.
Doğan and Eskiköy have been working together since 2001 and have a handful of award-winning short documentaries under their belt.
The results of the IDFA’s Joris Ivens competition will be announced this Saturday. In Amsterdam everyone is already buzzing about “On the Way to School,” which has already secured its place in the competition’s top 10 favorites. Still, even if Doğan and Eskiköy don’t come home with a prize from Amsterdam, they’ve already come a very long way by being showcased at the IDFA.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman following the film’s premiere in Amsterdam, there is a noticeable glitter in their eyes as they mention their own production journey and the general state of documentary filmmaking in Turkey. Eskiköy answers most of the questions, but it’s obvious that these boys are a rock solid team of two.
How did you decide to make this film?
We had a close friend who was in a similar situation. He was officially appointed as a teacher to another village in the region where the kids didn’t speak Turkish. We found his story very interesting and wanted to capture it on screen. Unfortunately, our friend preferred not to be filmed, but still the story stuck in our minds. We knew that every year new teachers were appointed to villages in the region. We located the Demirci village and waited. Luckily, Emre Aydın who had been appointed there, let us capture him on film throughout the year.
The camera is noticeably invisible throughout the film. How did you manage to get the trust of all the people on screen -- especially the children, who never seem to notice that you were filming?
Of course, before filming we introduced ourselves to everyone in the community and clearly explained what we wanted to do. After a while they got used to seeing us stick around and forgot our presence. As for the children, all of them were focused on the teacher, not the camera, since Emre, after all, was the highest authority in the classroom.
As the film shows, Emre has a frustrating experience throughout his tenure, not only due to the language problem but also as a result of the region’s destitute situation. What kind of an experience was it for you as filmmakers?
Since Özgür knows the region a lot better than I do, he wasn’t surprised. As for me, it was different and slightly shocking, since the Kurdish life that I had envisaged was not what I later saw.
The production story of the film is very interesting. You have a Dutch production partner and you’ve received funds from abroad. Could you elaborate?
We first looked for financing in Turkey. Unfortunately, we were rejected by the fund of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. But we knew we wanted to do this film and do it right. Later we were accepted to the Greenhouse feature-length documentary workshop, supported by the European Union and specifically designed for filmmakers in the Mediterranean region. This was a great opportunity. Not only did we get the chance to develop the project artistically, but we were introduced to producers, commissioning editors and representatives of documentary institutes. A lot of people started talking about and believing in the project, which was great! During this period, we applied to the IDFA’s own Jan Vrijmun Fund and the Sundance Documentary Fund, both of which we received the support of. Also, our Dutch producer, Pieter Van Huystee, came on board.
Was it easy to bring all these partners together?
Naturally it has been a great experience to work on the international level. However, the more people that are involved, the more voices there are that have a say in your project. You have to make everyone happy without forsaking your own perspective. I really wish that we could have been able to find financing in Turkey. After all, this is a film made in Turkey and we want to continue making films in our country, not somewhere else.
Speaking of Turkey, what do you think of the current state of documentary films in the country?
It’s definitely going in a positive direction. There are a lot of great projects being made, especially by the Filmist collective, which includes Berke Baş, Haşmet Topaloğlu, Somnur Vardar and Belmin Söylemez and also the Docist organization, by Necati Sönmez and Emel Çelebi, is admirable. But the real issue is that non-fiction films are still always pushed aside when fiction is mentioned. Documentary directors should be willing to stand up for their rights and not undervalue themselves; they should push for distribution and ask for copyright compensation.
Will you exhibit and maybe distribute the film in Turkey?
Hopefully, it will be shown in the İstanbul International Film Festival in 2009. But, other than that, I highly doubt that any TV channel in Turkey would show it. Our real hope is to distribute the film in cinemas abroad and locally, but transferring from digital to 35 mm prints is not a small task.
Will you be working together again? What’s your next project?
Yes we will. Right now we’re focusing on the exhibition aspect of “On the Way to School,” but we are hoping to make a feature-length fiction film in the near future.
Edinburgh Film Festival 2009 | Milk and Doc
Milk (Sut)
DIRECTORS’ SHOWCASE
UK PREMIERE
Semih Kaplanoglu | Turkey, France, Germany
2008 | 102 min
Cast: Melih Selçuk, Basak Köklükaya, Riza Akin, Saadet Isil
Aksoy, Tülin Özen, Alev Uçarer
An aspiring writer balances the demands of family, art and
growing up.
Turkey continues to produce some of the most elegant and
profound cinema on the international scene. This supremely
delicate and engaging coming of age drama follows sensitive
country boy Yusuf as he struggles to scrape a living in a
changing rural economy, whilst also managing the turbulent
emotions of adolescence and seeking recognition for his
poetry. When his single mother finds a romantic interest of her
own, the future looks even more uncertain...
On the Way to School
DOCUMENT
UK PREMIERE
Orhan Eskiköy, Özgür Dogan | Turkey | 2009 | 81 min
All the charm of Être et Avoir: school life seen through the eyes
of a young Turkish teacher just finding his feet.
Recently graduated primary teacher Emre has been sent to run
a remote school in Turkish Kurdistan. He arrives to discover a
village with no running water, a somewhat relaxed approach
to school attendance, and pupils who only speak Kurdish,
a language fervently prohibited by the Turkish government.
Filmed over one year, this is a beautiful, affectionate and gently
humorous observation of Emre (never far from a phone call
home to his mum) and his class as they struggle to come to
terms with one another’s customs.
DIRECTORS’ SHOWCASE
UK PREMIERE
Semih Kaplanoglu | Turkey, France, Germany
2008 | 102 min
Cast: Melih Selçuk, Basak Köklükaya, Riza Akin, Saadet Isil
Aksoy, Tülin Özen, Alev Uçarer
An aspiring writer balances the demands of family, art and
growing up.
Turkey continues to produce some of the most elegant and
profound cinema on the international scene. This supremely
delicate and engaging coming of age drama follows sensitive
country boy Yusuf as he struggles to scrape a living in a
changing rural economy, whilst also managing the turbulent
emotions of adolescence and seeking recognition for his
poetry. When his single mother finds a romantic interest of her
own, the future looks even more uncertain...
On the Way to School
DOCUMENT
UK PREMIERE
Orhan Eskiköy, Özgür Dogan | Turkey | 2009 | 81 min
All the charm of Être et Avoir: school life seen through the eyes
of a young Turkish teacher just finding his feet.
Recently graduated primary teacher Emre has been sent to run
a remote school in Turkish Kurdistan. He arrives to discover a
village with no running water, a somewhat relaxed approach
to school attendance, and pupils who only speak Kurdish,
a language fervently prohibited by the Turkish government.
Filmed over one year, this is a beautiful, affectionate and gently
humorous observation of Emre (never far from a phone call
home to his mum) and his class as they struggle to come to
terms with one another’s customs.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Variety Review | Eastern Plays
Cannes | Eastern Plays (Bulgaria-Sweden) By JAY WEISSBERG
A Waterfront Films (Bulgaria) presentation of a Waterfront Films (Bulgaria)/Chimney Pot, Film i Vast (Sweden) production. (International sales: Memento Films, Paris.) Produced by Kamen Kalev, Stefan Piryov, Fredrik Zander. Executive producer, Maya Vitkova. Co-producers, Anguel Christanov, Thomas Eskilksson. Directed, written by Kamen Kalev.
With: Christo Christov, Ovanes Torosian, Saadet Isil Aksoy, Nikolina Yancheva, Ivan Nalbantov, Krasimira Demireva, Hatice Aslan, Kerem Atabeyoglu, Chavdar Sokolov, Alexander "The Indian" Radanov, Anjela Nedialkova, Ivan Vitkov.
(Bulgarian, Turkish, English dialogue)
The quiet despair of directionless souls could be a dreary subject in the hands of a lesser novice, but Kamen Kalev's "Eastern Plays" is an honest, skillful rumination on the search for inner and outer connections. While the storylines of two existentially adrift brothers aren't always well integrated, Kalev brings a fine ear for dialogue and an unsentimental warmth to this personal tale, making for an impressive debut that ends on a surprisingly hopeful note. A long and fruitful fest life is assured, with even a chance for modest Euro arthouse play.
The bleak apartment blocs on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria, are home to Georgi (Ovanes Torosian), a troubled teen dabbling in skinhead culture. Half-heartedly drawn to a violent racist clique by Fish (Chavdar Sokolov), Georgi is borderline disaffected, joining in when Drega (Alexander "The Indian" Radanov) leads a foreigner-bashing posse in an attack on a visiting Turkish family.
Stepping in to help the victims is Georgi's largely estranged older brother Christo, known as Itso (Christo Christov). While Georgi opens the pic, this is Itso's film in many ways. A former art student and sculptor, Itso just about gets through his days as a carpenter, supplementing a methadone dependency with multiple beers.
Itso pushes everyone away, especially g.f. Niki (Nikolina Yancheva), until he intervenes to help the Turkish family and connects with their daughter Isil (Saadet Isil Aksoy). Forming an unlikely yet thoroughly believable duo, these two are brought together by their mutual need for the kind of supportive humanity not found in their daily lives; they're the only people who listen to each other when they speak. Beyond overcoming the objections of her mistrustful parents (well played by Hatice Aslan and Kerem Atabeyoglu), Itso needs to surface from his funk before he can reach for a future.
While both brothers are floundering in existential solitude, Itso projects a far deeper sense of being both lost and trapped. Perhaps it's because tyro thesp Christov, an old friend of Kalev's, was the basis for the script, and many details are taken directly from his life. Kalev's sensitivity, combined with dialogue as truthful as it is natural, leaves no room for vampiric verisimilitude; while it comes as a shock to discover, in the end credits, that Christov tragically died last year, the entire film is suffused with poignant respect.
Less successful is a political subplot involving Drega accepting cash from a candidate to foment racist attacks; though undoubtedly based on fact, this belongs in a separate film. Kalev also seems to be searching too hard for ways to integrate the different strands.
All perfs are strong, but it's Christov and Aksoy who linger in the memory. At first Itso seems an unappealing character, but his haunted quality and sense of decency, coupled with wrenching despair, quickly confound that superficial impression. Aksoy, so fine in Semih Kaplanoglu's films "Egg" and "Milk," is a striking presence, her external beauty enhanced by a palpable empathy.
Largely handheld lensing captures the characters' unsettled cores, and the blowup from HD is flawless. Several scenes stand out for their emotional and technical honesty, including Itso's conversation with a shrink (Ivan Vitkov), in which Christov, seen in shadow against a window, explains that he has the strength to get up, but nothing to hold onto.
Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Julian Atanassov; editors, Kalev, Stefan Piryiov, Johannes Pinter; music, Jean-Paul Wall; production designer, Martin Slavov; sound (Dolby Digital), Momchil Bozhkov, Boris Trayanov; associate producer, Dobriana Petkova; assistant director, Ina Hadjieva; casting, Vania Bajdarova, Harika Uygur. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Directors' Fortnight), May 17, 2009. Running time: 88 MIN.
A Waterfront Films (Bulgaria) presentation of a Waterfront Films (Bulgaria)/Chimney Pot, Film i Vast (Sweden) production. (International sales: Memento Films, Paris.) Produced by Kamen Kalev, Stefan Piryov, Fredrik Zander. Executive producer, Maya Vitkova. Co-producers, Anguel Christanov, Thomas Eskilksson. Directed, written by Kamen Kalev.
With: Christo Christov, Ovanes Torosian, Saadet Isil Aksoy, Nikolina Yancheva, Ivan Nalbantov, Krasimira Demireva, Hatice Aslan, Kerem Atabeyoglu, Chavdar Sokolov, Alexander "The Indian" Radanov, Anjela Nedialkova, Ivan Vitkov.
(Bulgarian, Turkish, English dialogue)
The quiet despair of directionless souls could be a dreary subject in the hands of a lesser novice, but Kamen Kalev's "Eastern Plays" is an honest, skillful rumination on the search for inner and outer connections. While the storylines of two existentially adrift brothers aren't always well integrated, Kalev brings a fine ear for dialogue and an unsentimental warmth to this personal tale, making for an impressive debut that ends on a surprisingly hopeful note. A long and fruitful fest life is assured, with even a chance for modest Euro arthouse play.
The bleak apartment blocs on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria, are home to Georgi (Ovanes Torosian), a troubled teen dabbling in skinhead culture. Half-heartedly drawn to a violent racist clique by Fish (Chavdar Sokolov), Georgi is borderline disaffected, joining in when Drega (Alexander "The Indian" Radanov) leads a foreigner-bashing posse in an attack on a visiting Turkish family.
Stepping in to help the victims is Georgi's largely estranged older brother Christo, known as Itso (Christo Christov). While Georgi opens the pic, this is Itso's film in many ways. A former art student and sculptor, Itso just about gets through his days as a carpenter, supplementing a methadone dependency with multiple beers.
Itso pushes everyone away, especially g.f. Niki (Nikolina Yancheva), until he intervenes to help the Turkish family and connects with their daughter Isil (Saadet Isil Aksoy). Forming an unlikely yet thoroughly believable duo, these two are brought together by their mutual need for the kind of supportive humanity not found in their daily lives; they're the only people who listen to each other when they speak. Beyond overcoming the objections of her mistrustful parents (well played by Hatice Aslan and Kerem Atabeyoglu), Itso needs to surface from his funk before he can reach for a future.
While both brothers are floundering in existential solitude, Itso projects a far deeper sense of being both lost and trapped. Perhaps it's because tyro thesp Christov, an old friend of Kalev's, was the basis for the script, and many details are taken directly from his life. Kalev's sensitivity, combined with dialogue as truthful as it is natural, leaves no room for vampiric verisimilitude; while it comes as a shock to discover, in the end credits, that Christov tragically died last year, the entire film is suffused with poignant respect.
Less successful is a political subplot involving Drega accepting cash from a candidate to foment racist attacks; though undoubtedly based on fact, this belongs in a separate film. Kalev also seems to be searching too hard for ways to integrate the different strands.
All perfs are strong, but it's Christov and Aksoy who linger in the memory. At first Itso seems an unappealing character, but his haunted quality and sense of decency, coupled with wrenching despair, quickly confound that superficial impression. Aksoy, so fine in Semih Kaplanoglu's films "Egg" and "Milk," is a striking presence, her external beauty enhanced by a palpable empathy.
Largely handheld lensing captures the characters' unsettled cores, and the blowup from HD is flawless. Several scenes stand out for their emotional and technical honesty, including Itso's conversation with a shrink (Ivan Vitkov), in which Christov, seen in shadow against a window, explains that he has the strength to get up, but nothing to hold onto.
Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Julian Atanassov; editors, Kalev, Stefan Piryiov, Johannes Pinter; music, Jean-Paul Wall; production designer, Martin Slavov; sound (Dolby Digital), Momchil Bozhkov, Boris Trayanov; associate producer, Dobriana Petkova; assistant director, Ina Hadjieva; casting, Vania Bajdarova, Harika Uygur. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Directors' Fortnight), May 17, 2009. Running time: 88 MIN.
Cannes 2009 | Eastern Plays by kamen Kalev
Eastern Plays | Bulgaria, Sweden - 1h23 (2009) Directed, written by Kamen Kalev.
Film Info in PDF
Produced by Kamen Kalev, Stefan Piryov, Fredrik Zander. Executive producer, Maya Vitkova. Co-producers, Anguel Christanov, Thomas Eskilksson. (Bulgarian, Turkish, English dialogue)
Cast: Christo Christov, Ovanes Torosian, Saadet Isil Aksoy, Nikolina Yancheva, Ivan Nalbantov, Krasimira Demireva, Hatice Aslan, Kerem Atabeyoglu, Chavdar Sokolov, Alexander "The Indian" Radanov, Anjela Nedialkova, Ivan Vitkov.
Synopsis: Two brothers who've lost all contact are suddenly brought together when they have opposite roles in a racist beating : while Georgi who's recently joined a neonazi group participates in the violence, Itzo witnesses and rescues the Turkish family. Georgi, now being asked to participate in larger events, starts to question his implication in the movement and Itzo wonders if the beautiful Turkish girl he saved could be his ticket out from his sad life in Sofia. Only by reuniting will the two brothers be able to assess what they really want from life. (more...)
Production : Waterfront Film | Bacho Kiro 39 1202 Sofia Bulgaria
Tél : +359 2 985 2300 | info@waterfrontfilm.net | www.waterfrontfilm.net
Co-Production : Chimney Pot (Suède) | Film i Väst AB (Suède)
foreign sales : Memento Films International
6 cité paradis 75010 Paris France
Tél : +33 (0)1 53 34 90 20 | Fax : +33 (0)1 42 47 11 24
sales@memento-films.com | festival@memento-films.com | www.memento-films.com
KAMEN KALEV
Kamen Kalev was born in Burgas, Bulgaria in 1975. He graduated from the Femis Film School, Paris. Kamen's short films Orpheus, Maltonius Olbren, Get The Rabbit Back, Rabbit Troubles were presented and received awards at many International films festival such as Cannes, Berlin, Clermont-Ferrant, NY Film Festival, Locarno, Stockholm, Sarajevo... He also directed over 60 commercials and a number of muisic videos.
KAMEN KALEV Filmography
2009 : Eastern Plays
2007 : Rabbit Troubles (cm / short)
2005 : Get The Rabbit Back (cm / short)
2002 : Orpheus (cm / short)
2001 : Maltonius Olbren (cm / short)
Bulgarian movie “Eastern Plays” selected for Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes
On May 17, 2009 Bulgarian movie “Eastern Plays”, directed by Kamen Kalev premiered in Cannes. It will compete for the Camera D'or Award given to debut films. According to Olivier Pere, Directors’ Fortnight director, “Eastern Plays” is “original, moving and profound, and the actors are just amazing”. The film is a real find, he says. It is a low-budget one with many of the crew working for free. Private investor Angel Hristanov supported the shots financially. During a film festival in Sarajevo Kamen met Peter Gustavson, Director of a Swiss Film Fund, who also lent a helping hand. Three well-known Turkish actors play for free as well.
Film Info in PDF
Produced by Kamen Kalev, Stefan Piryov, Fredrik Zander. Executive producer, Maya Vitkova. Co-producers, Anguel Christanov, Thomas Eskilksson. (Bulgarian, Turkish, English dialogue)
Cast: Christo Christov, Ovanes Torosian, Saadet Isil Aksoy, Nikolina Yancheva, Ivan Nalbantov, Krasimira Demireva, Hatice Aslan, Kerem Atabeyoglu, Chavdar Sokolov, Alexander "The Indian" Radanov, Anjela Nedialkova, Ivan Vitkov.
Synopsis: Two brothers who've lost all contact are suddenly brought together when they have opposite roles in a racist beating : while Georgi who's recently joined a neonazi group participates in the violence, Itzo witnesses and rescues the Turkish family. Georgi, now being asked to participate in larger events, starts to question his implication in the movement and Itzo wonders if the beautiful Turkish girl he saved could be his ticket out from his sad life in Sofia. Only by reuniting will the two brothers be able to assess what they really want from life. (more...)
Production : Waterfront Film | Bacho Kiro 39 1202 Sofia Bulgaria
Tél : +359 2 985 2300 | info@waterfrontfilm.net | www.waterfrontfilm.net
Co-Production : Chimney Pot (Suède) | Film i Väst AB (Suède)
foreign sales : Memento Films International
6 cité paradis 75010 Paris France
Tél : +33 (0)1 53 34 90 20 | Fax : +33 (0)1 42 47 11 24
sales@memento-films.com | festival@memento-films.com | www.memento-films.com
KAMEN KALEVKamen Kalev was born in Burgas, Bulgaria in 1975. He graduated from the Femis Film School, Paris. Kamen's short films Orpheus, Maltonius Olbren, Get The Rabbit Back, Rabbit Troubles were presented and received awards at many International films festival such as Cannes, Berlin, Clermont-Ferrant, NY Film Festival, Locarno, Stockholm, Sarajevo... He also directed over 60 commercials and a number of muisic videos.
KAMEN KALEV Filmography
2009 : Eastern Plays
2007 : Rabbit Troubles (cm / short)
2005 : Get The Rabbit Back (cm / short)
2002 : Orpheus (cm / short)
2001 : Maltonius Olbren (cm / short)
Bulgarian movie “Eastern Plays” selected for Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes
On May 17, 2009 Bulgarian movie “Eastern Plays”, directed by Kamen Kalev premiered in Cannes. It will compete for the Camera D'or Award given to debut films. According to Olivier Pere, Directors’ Fortnight director, “Eastern Plays” is “original, moving and profound, and the actors are just amazing”. The film is a real find, he says. It is a low-budget one with many of the crew working for free. Private investor Angel Hristanov supported the shots financially. During a film festival in Sarajevo Kamen met Peter Gustavson, Director of a Swiss Film Fund, who also lent a helping hand. Three well-known Turkish actors play for free as well.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
A Honey of a Deal for Kaplanoglu
Germany’s leading regional film fund, Filmstiftung NRW, has allocated $14.7m – a third of its annual budget - to 35 projects, including Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu’s BAL - HONEY, the third and final part of his Yusuf trilogy, between Kaplan Film and Heimatfilm.
German film production will step up a gear this week after the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board finally agreed its budget for 2009. It is understood to be close to last year’s $93.4m. The decision, following a special meeting of its administrative council, means the FFA can resume funding, including paying producers “reference funding” for successful 2008 projects.
German film production will step up a gear this week after the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board finally agreed its budget for 2009. It is understood to be close to last year’s $93.4m. The decision, following a special meeting of its administrative council, means the FFA can resume funding, including paying producers “reference funding” for successful 2008 projects.
Friday, May 01, 2009
2009 | The Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival in Ankara
ANKARA - The Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival in Ankara will feature movies from the 1980s to turn the spotlight on the pressures women faced during that decade. Ninety films by 81 female directors will be on silver screen at the festival. The political, social and cultural transformations of the 1980s, a significant decade both in Turkey and in the world, will be relived on the silver screen as part of an annual women’s film festival in Ankara. The festival will open May 7 at 8:30 p.m. at the State Opera and Ballet building in Ankara with an opening ceremony that will be aired by state-run TRT 2. The festival will conclude May 14.
Film fest looks back at the 80’s
"The 1980s were years in which films were subject to censorship and women were confined to traditional roles in Turkey," Halime Güner, the coordinator of the 12th Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, said at a press conference Wednesday. "We want to bring the ’80s back and put them in the spotlight from the perspective of women to highlight the pressures women faced at the time and remind people of the historical facts of the period, which tend to be forgotten."
The Flying Broom film festival is Turkey’s first to focus on women. This year’s edition will feature screenings of 90 films by 81 female directors from 26 countries, along with side events related to the theme, "1980s."
Speaking at the press conference, film critic Alin Taşçıyan said women’s cinema symbolizes the opposition to the pressures and traditional roles women are confronted with and to any kind of discrimination, including gender discrimination. She said it was after the 1980s that women began to raise their voices in Turkish cinema and shoot their own films that dealt with women’s problems.
"This year’s festival has the best program in the last two years of all the film festivals in Turkey and in the world, including the Cannes Film Festival," Taşçıyan said. "I invite everyone to watch these carefully selected films."
The films screened will include those by prominent female directors such as the German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, the Spanish actress and director Antonia San Juan and Magda, known as the diva of Egyptian cinema. The event will also showcase Turkish and international documentaries by female directors, as well as films from the 1980s, including "Mine" (1982), by the renowned late director Atıf Yılmaz, and "Tüm Kapılar Kapalıydı" (1989) by Memduh Ün. Ün’s film, titled "All the Doors Were Closed" in English, focuses on the difficulties its female hero faced under the military regime of the 1980s.
In addition to film and documentary screenings in different categories, the festival will also feature panel discussions, exhibitions, concerts and other side events. An exhibition titled "On September 12É" referring to the day the Turkish military staged a coup in 1980, will run between May 8 and 18 at the İbrahim Çeçen Foundation IC Art Gallery on Kızılırmak Street in Kocatepe. The exhibition will feature letters sent by women from Turkey’s different provinces, reflecting on their thoughts and feelings about the coup period and its effect on women. Letters written by the visitors to the exhibition will also be added to the collection.
The International Federation of Film Critics Award will also be presented at the festival, the only event in Turkey where this award is given.
Festival films will be screened at the Kızılırmak movie theater and the German Culture Center as well as at university campuses in Ankara. Documentaries will be shown at Ankara University’s Communication Faculty, and at the Bilkent University and Middle East Technical University campuses. Short films and documentaries will be free of charge. Other tickets will be 6 Turkish Liras. For more info: www.ucansupurge.org.
Film fest looks back at the 80’s
"The 1980s were years in which films were subject to censorship and women were confined to traditional roles in Turkey," Halime Güner, the coordinator of the 12th Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, said at a press conference Wednesday. "We want to bring the ’80s back and put them in the spotlight from the perspective of women to highlight the pressures women faced at the time and remind people of the historical facts of the period, which tend to be forgotten."
The Flying Broom film festival is Turkey’s first to focus on women. This year’s edition will feature screenings of 90 films by 81 female directors from 26 countries, along with side events related to the theme, "1980s."
Speaking at the press conference, film critic Alin Taşçıyan said women’s cinema symbolizes the opposition to the pressures and traditional roles women are confronted with and to any kind of discrimination, including gender discrimination. She said it was after the 1980s that women began to raise their voices in Turkish cinema and shoot their own films that dealt with women’s problems.
"This year’s festival has the best program in the last two years of all the film festivals in Turkey and in the world, including the Cannes Film Festival," Taşçıyan said. "I invite everyone to watch these carefully selected films."
The films screened will include those by prominent female directors such as the German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, the Spanish actress and director Antonia San Juan and Magda, known as the diva of Egyptian cinema. The event will also showcase Turkish and international documentaries by female directors, as well as films from the 1980s, including "Mine" (1982), by the renowned late director Atıf Yılmaz, and "Tüm Kapılar Kapalıydı" (1989) by Memduh Ün. Ün’s film, titled "All the Doors Were Closed" in English, focuses on the difficulties its female hero faced under the military regime of the 1980s.
In addition to film and documentary screenings in different categories, the festival will also feature panel discussions, exhibitions, concerts and other side events. An exhibition titled "On September 12É" referring to the day the Turkish military staged a coup in 1980, will run between May 8 and 18 at the İbrahim Çeçen Foundation IC Art Gallery on Kızılırmak Street in Kocatepe. The exhibition will feature letters sent by women from Turkey’s different provinces, reflecting on their thoughts and feelings about the coup period and its effect on women. Letters written by the visitors to the exhibition will also be added to the collection.
The International Federation of Film Critics Award will also be presented at the festival, the only event in Turkey where this award is given.
Festival films will be screened at the Kızılırmak movie theater and the German Culture Center as well as at university campuses in Ankara. Documentaries will be shown at Ankara University’s Communication Faculty, and at the Bilkent University and Middle East Technical University campuses. Short films and documentaries will be free of charge. Other tickets will be 6 Turkish Liras. For more info: www.ucansupurge.org.
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