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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two Awards to Three Monkeys at River Run International Film Festival

Three Monkeys has received the top prize in an international film festival in the United States. Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Three Monkeys (Uc Maymun) was named "the Best Film" by the jury in the River Run International Film Festival. Actress Hatice Aslan received the Best Actress Award with her part in Three Monkeys. The festival jury included Eric Besner from Lucas Films, director Jennifer Chambers Lynch, film critic Andrew O'Heir Michael Kutza, artistic director and the founder of Chicago International Film Festival. Ceylan was named the best director with Three Monkeys in 2008 in the Cannes Film Festival.

Theaters...Screens...Seats

2009 Box Office Ranking ...so far

Rank / Movie Title / Distributor / Gross / Release Date
Turkish films in Bold
1 Recep Ivedik 2 Ozen Film $20,769,050 2/13
2 Günesi gördüm Pinema $11,367,756 3/12
3 Güz sancisi Ozen Film $2,889,639 1/23
4 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button WB $2,608,363 2/6
5 Kadri'nin götürdügü yere git Medyavizyon $2,388,416 1/16
6 Vali (2009) Medyavizyon $2,227,940 1/9
7 Yes Man WB $1,883,542 1/16
8 Slumdog Millionaire Chantier $1,869,006 2/27
9 Fast and Furious UIP $1,558,249 4/3
10 Twilight Tiglon $1,465,726 1/16
11 The Tale of Despereaux UIP $1,420,078 1/23
12 Ayakta Kal UIP $1,128,543 1/16
13 Umut Ozen Film $945,268 2/27
14 Vicky Cristina Barcelona Tiglon $910,973 1/9
15 Inkheart Medyavizyon $884,658 1/23
16 My Bloody Valentine 3-D WB $875,120 2/13
17 Valkyrie Tiglon $855,129 1/30
18 Knowing WB $840,922 4/10
19 The Unborn (2009) UIP $781,125 1/9
20 Watchmen UIP $587,002 3/6

2008 Box office ranking based on Gross

Rank / Movie Title / Distributor / Gross / Release Date
Foreign films in Bold

1 Recep Ivedik Ozen Film $24,632,784 2/22
2 A.R.O.G UIP $19,403,566 12/5
3 Issiz adam Cinefilm $14,515,789 11/7
4 Muro: Nalet olsun içimdeki insan sevgisine Ozen Film $11,526,993 12/5
5 Osmanli cumhuriyeti UIP $7,334,710 11/21
6 Mustafa WB $5,589,390 10/29
7 Maskeli besler kibris UIP $5,575,199 1/11
8 Çilgin dersane kampta Ozen Film $5,284,100 1/11
9 O... Çocuklari Kenda $4,358,771 5/16
10 Journey to the Center of the Earth Medyavizyon $3,585,149 7/18

Alltime Turkish Box Office Ranking

Rank/ Film / (release) / Tickets
1 Recep İvedik (2008) 4,301,641
2 Kurtlar Vadisi-Irak (2006) 4,256,567
3 G.O.R.A (2004) 4,001,071
4 Babam ve Oğlum (2005) 3,837,876
5 A.R.O.G (2008) 3,457,966
6 Vizontele (2001) 3,308,120
7 Vizontele Tuba (2004) 2,894,802
8 Titanik (1998) 2,844,022
9 Hababam Sınıfı Askerde (2005) 2,586,132
10 Eşkiya (1996) 2,571,133
11 Organize İşler (2005) 2,558,069
12 Kahpe Bizans (2000) 2,472,162
13 Muro (2008) 2,165,199
14 Hababam Sınıfı 3.5 (2006) 2,068,165
15 Beyaz Melek (2007) 2,030,444
16 Issız Adam (2008) 2,012,780
17 Kabadayı (2007) 2,002,005
18 Asmalı Konak (2003) 1,791,396
19 Yüzüklerin Efendisi: Yüzük Kardeşliği (2001) 1,759,705
20 Truva (2004) 1,692,458

Turkish Provinces with no Movie Theaters

Turkish Provinces with no Movie Theaters: Gümüşhane, Bayburt, Ağrı, Iğdır, Ardahan, Muş, Mardin Kilis, Şırnak and Siirt.

Turkey has 1575 screens mainly in major cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. 70% of the screens are operated by independant owners (mostly 1-2 screens) and 6 national chains operate the other 30%.

2008 Turkish Box office

Top 10 Box office (all Turkish films)
RANK/NAME/Ticket Sales

1 RECEP İVEDİK 4,301,641
2 A.R.O.G: BİR YONTMATAŞ FİLMİ* 3,457,966
3 MURO* 2,165,199
4 ISSIZ ADAM* 2,012,780
5 OSMANLI CUMHURİYETİ* 1,401,420
6 MUSTAFA 1,098,687
7 120 1,033,917
8 MASKELI BEŞLER: KIBRIS 95,141 960,979
9 ÇILGIN DERSANE KAMPTA 6,314,199 899,314
10 O… ÇOCUKLARI 713,546


[*] in current release Friday, December 19, 2008
in 2007 only 5 films in top 10 were Turkish productions.


Total films released in 2008: 256
Toal Turkish Films released in 2008 : 50 (19.53 %) [1]
Total tickets: toplam 38.465.046
Total Tickets sold for Turkish films: 23.074.291 (59.99 %) [2]
Total Box Office: 301.652.746 TL
Average Ticket Price: 7.84 TL [3]
Highest Box Office: Week 49
Best box office month : December 2008
[1] Not including the Turkish films released in 2007 that was still in release in 2008.
[2] Including ticket sales for the Turkish films released in 2007 that was still in release in 2008.
[3] January 1, 2008 parity with US$
TRY Turkey Lira 1.170 Units per USD
December 31, 2008 parity with US$

TRY Turkey Lira 1.540 Units per USD

Source:Haftalık Antrakt Sinema Gazetesi

Based on year-end Türkiye's Weekend Market Datas" chart by the Weekly Antrakt Cinema Newspaper

IIFF 2009 | Men on the Bridge

MEN ON THE BRIDGE | KÖPRÜDEKİLER
Director: Aslı Özge
Cast: Fikret Portakal, Murat Tokgöz, Umut İlker
Germany-Turkey, 2009 | 35 mm / Colour / 90' | Turkish; English s.t.
ProductionFabian Massah for Endorphine Production GmbH

The illegal rose-seller Fikret, the shared-taxi driver Umut, and the traffic policeman Murat live in the suburbs of Istanbul and come to work to the centre of the city, the Bosphorus Bridge. Unknown to each other, their dreams intersect in the rush hour every day with millions of other Istanbulites on the so-called border between Asia and Europe. The film's stories are based on the real lives of the main characters, who act themselves in their original environments. Telling the stories of Berliners in her first fiction feature A Little Bit of April (2003), Aslı Özge this time tells about the dreams and aspirations of the young generation in Istanbul.

Filmography
Köprüdekiler (2009)
... aka Igne deligi (Turkey: Turkish title)
... aka Men on the Bridge (International: English title)
Ein bisschen April | A Little Bit of April | Biraz Nisan (2003) (TV) 99 min.
Cast: Thomas Gerber, Dagmar Gabler, Christian Wewerka, Anja Ressmer


Berlin in April. Luka spends his days looking for the house he has seen in his dreams since he was a child. At night he secretly returns to these houses to see if he can sleep there without having nightmares. One night he meets Vera with whom he once had an affair. His mysterious existence also attracts Tim, a failed writer who cannot accept that his glory days are over. And then there’s Cem who dreams of becoming a famous musician and the beautiful but naive Isa. For each of them, moving to a new house is an end in itself, but also a new beginning.

IIFF 2009 | The Awards

The Awards Ceremony and the Closing Gala of the 28th edition of the International İstanbul Film Festival was held on Saturday, April 19, at Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Lifetime Achievement Award of the Festival was presented to Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski. The other awards:

INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN TULIP COMPETITION
The International Jury of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by director Goran Paskaljevic and composed of film critic Mike Goodridge, Managing Director of Holland Film, President of the European Film Promotion and member of the selection committee for the Competition Programme of the Berlin International Film Festival Claudia Landsberger, director Cristian Mungiu and director Ümit Ünal has decided to give the:

Golden Tulip to TONY MANERO directed by Pablo Larraín, which the jury felt was a highly original portrait of life under an oppressive political regime, and which is shocking, funn7px;y and moving.

Special Jury Prize to A FILM WITH ME IN IT directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, which the jury thought was that rare comedy which keeps you laughing from beginning to end with its unusual story and dark, dark humour.
NATIONAL COMPETITION
The National Jury of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival presided over by director Kutluğ Ataman, and composed of consultant editor of the TimeOut Film Guide Geoff Andrew, author Ayşe Kulin, producer Zeynep Özbatur, Sarajevo Film Festival Director Mirsad Purivatra and actress Bennu Yıldırımlar has decided to give:
the Golden Tulip Best Film Award to KÖPRÜDEKİLER / MEN ON THE BRIDGE directed by Aslı Özge;
the Best Director Award to MAHMUT FAZIL COŞKUN for his film Uzak İhtimal / Wrong Rosary.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 50,000 TL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the Best Actress Award to DERYA ALABORA for her performance in Pandora'nın Kutusu / Pandora's Box;
the Best Actor Award to NADİR SARIBACAK for his performance in Uzak İhtimal / Wrong Rosary.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey gave a monetary prize of 10,000 TL to each of the above-mentioned winners.
the Best Screenplay Award to TARIK TUFAN, GÖRKEM YELTAN, BEKTAŞ TOPALOĞLU for their screenplay for Uzak İhtimal / Wrong Rosary;
the Best Director of Photography Award to ÖZGÜR EKEN for his work in Süt / Milk;
the Best Music Award to NAİL YURTSEVER for his work for Ali'nin Sekiz Günü / Ali's Eight Days;
the Special Prize of the Jury to 11'E 10 KALA / 10 TO 11 by Pelin Esmer.

IIFF 2009 |RED BRIDGE

RED BRIDGE | PIRDESUR (KIRMIZIKÖPRÜ)
Director: Caner Canerik
Cast: Ali Şanlı, Cevahir Şanlı, Metin Güler
Turkey, 2008 | miniDV / Colour / 90' | Turkish-Kurkish; English s.t.

The latest film from director Caner Canerik, who has switched to documentaries after a career in news reporting chronicles his observations from the Kırmızıköprü Village (Pırdesur in Kurdish) in Pülümür town in the east of Turkey where he was born, and his return years after he has left for college. Especially after 1990, internal migration caused big tragedies in the east and south east regions of Turkey. Three million people, according to unofficial statistics, left their homes and savings and migrated to cities they hardly knew. Kırmızıköprü now only has a population of 30 following emigration from the village, and the stories of these people who did not migrate, who continued to live there reflect the cultural and social transformation, life and struggle in the village.

IIFF 2009 | THE VOYAGE OF NÂZIM HİKMET TO CUBA

THE VOYAGE OF NÂZIM HİKMET TO CUBA
NÂZIM'IN KÜBA SEYAHATİ
Directors: Çağrı Kınıkoğlu & Gloria Rolando
Turkey-Cuba, 2008 | HD / Colour / 68' | Turkish-Spanish; English s.t.

The great poet of equality, freedom, and the Turkish language, Nâzım Hikmet had visited Cuba in 1961, on the invitation of his friend, the Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen. A member of the World Peace Council then, Nâzım went to Cuba in May 1961 for solidarity and also to observe the enthusiasm and the progress of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Through the testimonies of Cuban intellectuals whom Nâzım had met in this joyous voyage, and through other documents and archive materials, such as the recording of Nâzım's poem the "Havana Interview", the film discovers how the Cuban Revolution influenced Nâzım and how Nâzım influenced the Cuban intellectuals. This is a story of compatriot brotherhood and hope.

MY CRETAN LEMON TREE by Tahsin İşbilen

Benim Giritli limon ağacım
Seni nerelere dikeyim
Dikeyim, dikeyim
Seni kalbime dikeyim

MY CRETAN LEMON TREE
Official Web Site
WATCH ONLINE
Türkei 2007 | 56 Min Camera: Tahsin Isbilen Director: Tahsin Isbilen Editor: Tahsin Isbilen, Ebru AK Producer: Isin Turgut Score: Musfik Turgut Screenplay: Serkan Cabi

The story is about two immigrant women; Yurdanur and Malvina. Malvina's parents exchanged from Alacati, Izmir and settled on land of exchanged Turks in Heraklion-Crete. And Yurdanur's parents exchanged from Heraklion- Crete and settled on land of exchanged Greek in Izmir. Yurdanur is in her 60's and she belongs to the second generation of a Cretan exchanged family. In all spheres of her life there lies the evidence of a Cretan culture. For instance, she mainly cooks Cretan dishes. If she is in a happy mood, she still sings Cretan songs in Greek.And she attends to the club of Cretans. They are talking about their native land in Cretan which is not visited so far. Malvina is same ages and her family was exchanged from Izmir (Smyrna)-Alacati. She has grown up with the stories about the Asia Minor. She does not know Turkish, and has been in Izmir for several times. They have established The Heraklion Alacati Association in 1982. She also attends to a club where she sings her ancestry land's songs. The construction of the film is formed by these two characters and the stories are told by the songs belonging to the other side. The main concern, traced in the second, third and forth generations is the appreciation of the current situation.The relationships between the forth generation and their parents are the tense points in the film. Though being in Crete seems unimportant for the children, in fact they live under the dominance of Cretan culture in certain aspects.

[In Greek and Turkish, with Greek and Turkish subtitles]

Sonbahar at New Directors/New Films 2009

Autumn / Sonbahar
Series: New Directors/New Films 2009
Director: Özcan Alper, Country: Germany/Turkey, Release: 2008, Runtime: 99

This stunning elegy to lost youth and lost ideals follows Yusuf, just released from prison and headed to the majestic mountains of the eastern Black Sea region where he grew up. Without any friends or community left from his politically involved youth spent in the big city, he moves back into his mother’s small shack on the mountainside and tries to reconnect to the landscape of his childhood.

Sick and dispirited yet eager to believe in the possibilities of the future, he forges a tentative bond with a young local boy and an emotionally powerful connection with another outsider, a Georgian prostitute whose life is also waylaid by the shattered dreams of Socialist utopia. Özcan Alper’s debut is a powerfully realized inner journey that evinces an especially profound talent for the lyrical use of landscape to express belief in the human spirit.

Alper's Sonbahar at New Directors/New Films program

Film Festival: The City as Bane, Nature as Balm By A. O. SCOTT
Published: March 26, 2009

As usual the New Directors/New Films program, a joint presentation of the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center that runs through April 5, is a hotbed of stories: a few of them predictable, some of them elusive, many of them sad. But what might resonate longest in the mind, sampling this international gathering of first and second features, are not narratives but landscapes.

The plot of Ozcan Alper’s “Autumn,” [1] for example, might be described as a shard of Chekhov translated into Turkish. A former student radical, after serving time as a political prisoner, returns home to his village on the Black Sea coast of northern Turkey. In the nearby town he develops a wary, stricken infatuation with a prostitute from across the border in Georgia, who seems to return his interest with equal wariness. But their romance, if you can call it that, is framed, indeed overwhelmed, by the dour grandeur of the forested mountains, the crashing of the surf and the silence of the snow.

It’s not that the sublimity of the scenery distracts from the psychology of the characters, exactly. But the use of the natural world to bring a sense of unspoken meaning to their actions is the most interesting aspect of “Autumn.” The film’s themes of regret, spent passion and misdirected desire show the influence of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey’s ambassador to the international festival circuit, but its creative energy resides in the way it captures nature.

[1]
Directed by: Ozcan Alpher
Cast: Nini Levaja, Serkan Keskin, Gulefer Yenigul

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Review Summary

When he was a student in Instanbul in the 1990s, Yusuf was sent to prison for political activism in the fight for democracy. Ten years later, he is released on the grounds of ill health and goes straight to his village, in the remote heights above the Black Sea, where the only person he finds is his sick mother. His father died during his imprisonment, and his eldest sister married and moved away. Apart from his childhood friend Mikhail, Yusuf is the only young man in the village. Economic problems have driven all the others into urban areas. One evening the two friends go to a bar in the nearest town and meet a Georgian prostitute, Eka, with whom Yusuf falls in love. The young man clings to this woman as his only hope. But for Eka, Yusuf is more like a character in one of the Russian novels she likes to read, a man from another world and another era. Ultimately, their relationship proves to be impossible.

Movie Details
Title: Autumn
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Status: Released
Country: Germany, Turkey
Genre: Drama, Foreign

7th Annual Turkish Film Week in Berlin

7th Annual Turkish Film Week in Berlin | 7. Türkischen Filmwoche Berlin
SONBAHAR - HERBST
PAZAR - DER MARKT
NOKTA - DER PUNKT
ARA - DAZWISCHEN
HAVAR - HILFESCHREI
DEVRİM ARABALARI - DIE WAGEN DER REVOLUTION
GİTMEK - MY MARLON & BRANDO
SICAK - WARM
ÜÇ MAYMUN - DREI AFFEN
HAYAT VAR - ES GIBT EIN LEBEN
BUNU GERÇEKTEN YAPMALI MIYIM? –SOLL ICH ES WIRKLICH MACHEN?
ISSIZ ADAM - EINSAM
YAŞAM ARSIZI - LEBENSSÜCHTIG
EVET, ICH WILL!

(March 26-April 4, 2009, various cinemas, Berlin)
A wide range of the latest feature films and documentaries from Turkey will be screened at the 7th Turkish Film Week in Berlin. The programme will showcase current trends, themes and developments shaping Turkey's film landscape. For more information, please visit www.tuerkischefilmwoche-berlin.de.

''Sonbahar'', ''Pazar'', Gitmek - My Marlon ve Brando'', ''Issız Adam'', ''Üç Maymun'', ''Havar'', ''Dilber'in sekiz günü'', ''Nokta'', ''Ara'', ''Devrim Arabaları'', ''Sıcak'', ''Hayat var'', ''Yaşam Arsızı'' ve ''Evet, ich will''.

During the week MEDIA Antenne and Medienboard are organizing a get-together for producers from Germany and Turkey to commemorate the 20-year city partnership between Berlin and Istanbul and to mark the launch of the 7th Turkish Film Week in Berlin. By invitation only. For more information, please visit www.medienboard.de.

German-Turkish Delight: The First German-Turkish Coproduction Meeting
(March 25-26, 2009, Brandenburg State Representative Building, Berlin)

Three Monkeys in US

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's new film THREE MONKEYS won the Best Director prize at Cannes and has preview dates at the University of Richmond 3/20-3/22 in advance of its openings in LA (3/27) and NYC (5/1).

2009 Yesilcam Awards

Yeşilçam Awards for the year 2009 have been given in İstanbul with a ceremony. The award ceremony was organized in collaboration with the Beyoğlu Municipality and the Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture. The Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay, veteran artists including İzzet Günay, Perihan Savaş, Hülya Koçyiğit, Nebahat Çehre and Selda Alkor as well as many people from the business and media circles attended the ceremony.

"Although it is a very new tradition, the Yeşilçam Awards garner great interest. I dream that this tradition will turn into an international one," said Günay at the opening of the ceremony. He said Istanbul and Turkey were very suitable locations for this dream. "The winners are determined by a large jury. The recent developments in Turkish cinema offer hope for the industry’s future. It now has a respected place in world cinema."

This year’s Yeşilçam Award winners were determined by a 1,500-person jury, which included names from business, culture and media circles.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Three Monkeys” has put its stamp on the award ceremony which was held Tuesday evening. “Three Monkeys” has been awarded in “Best Film”, “Best Director”, and “Best Story” categories. Hatice Arslan got the “Best Actress” prize with her performance in “Three Monkeys.” Onur Saylak received “Best Actor” prize with his role in the film titled “Autumn.”

Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Best Male Actor: Onur Saylak / Sonbahar
Best Female Actor: Hatice Aslan / Üç Maymun
Best Supporting Male Actor: Altan Erkekli / O... Çocukları
Best Supporting Female Actor: Yıldız Kültür / Issız Adam
Turkcell First Film Award: Özcan Alper / Sonbahar
Best Screenplay: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan ve Ercan Kesal / Üç Maymun
Best Film Music: Aria Müzik / Issız Adam
Besy Cinematography: Gökhan Tiryaki / Üç Maymun
Digiturk Young Talent Award: Ahmet Rıfat Şungar / Üç Maymun
Best Film: Üç Maymun / Nuri Bilge Ceylan

41. SİYAD - TÜRK SİNEMASI ÖDÜLLERİ

41. SİYAD - TÜRK SİNEMASI ÖDÜLLERİ
23.02.2009

EN İYİ FİLM: Sonbahar (Yapımcı: F. Serkan ACAR)
EN İYİ YÖNETİM: Nuri Bilge CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)
CAHİDE SONKU EN İYİ KADIN OYUNCU PERFORMANSI: Hatice ASLAN (Üç Maymun)
EN İYİ ERKEK OYUNCU PERFORMANSI: Onur SAYLAK (Sonbahar)
EN İYİ YARDIMCI KADIN OYUNCU PERFORMANSI: Tülin ÖZEN (Vicdan)
EN İYİ YARDIMCI ERKEK OYUNCU PERFORMANSI: Ahmet Rıfat ŞUNGAR (Üç Maymun)
MAHMUT TALİ ÖNGÖREN EN İYİ SENARYO: Özcan ALPER (Sonbahar)
EN İYİ GÖRÜNTÜ YÖNETİMİ: Feza ÇALDIRAN (Sonbahar)
EN İYİ MÜZİK: Demir DEMİRKAN (Devrim Arabaları)
EN İYİ KURGU: Ayhan ERGÜRSEL, Bora GÖKŞİNGÖL, Nuri Bilge CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)
EN İYİ SANAT YÖNETİMİ: Natali YERES (Rıza)
UMUT VEREN SANATÇI: İnan TEMELKURAN
EN İYİ BELGESEL: Devrimci Gençlik Köprüsü (Yönetmen: Bahriye KABADAYI)
EN İYİ KISA FİLM: Unus Mundus (Yönetmen: Senem TÜZEN)
EN İYİ YABANCI FİLM: Kan Dökülecek (There Will Be Blood)
SİYAD ONUR ÖDÜLÜ: Şener ŞEN
SİYAD TUNCAN OKAN EMEK ÖDÜLÜ: Nijat ÖZÖN
SİYAD - ÖZEL ÖDÜL: Klaus EDER

Alper and Ceylan lead SİYAD awards

Alper and Ceylan lead SİYAD awards

Two much talked about Turkish films of last year, one by newcomer Özcan Alper and another by auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, grabbed four awards each at Sunday’s annual Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD) Awards.
Alper’s “Sonbahar” (Autumn) won the best picture honor in the 41st SİYAD Awards, handed out Sunday evening at a gala ceremony at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall in İstanbul’s Harbiye.
Writer-director Alper also won the best screenplay award for “Sonbahar,” which brought the best actor award to its leading actor, Onur Saylak, for his role as a political prisoner who returns to his hometown in the Black Sea region after being released on medical grounds 10 years after imprisonment. The film also earned the best cinematography award for Feza Çaldıran.

The four honors Ceylan’s internationally recognized “Üç Maymun” (Three Monkeys) collected at the SİYAD gala Sunday night included yet another best director prize -- after the Cannes film festival nod in 2008 -- for Ceylan and the best editing prize. Its leading actress, Hatice Aslan, earned the best actress award for her performance as the deceitful wife of the title character who goes to prison to cover for his boss, and Ahmet Rıfat Şungar won the best supporting actor prize for his portrayal of the couple’s son.

Among other SİYAD honors, handed out in 13 categories in total, the best supporting actress award went to Tülin Özen for her role in “Vicdan” (Conscience), directed by Erden Kıral; the best music award went to rocker Demir Demirkan for his soundtrack for documentary filmmaker Tolga Örnek’s debut fictional feature “Devrim Arabaları” (Devrim Automobiles); and the 2007 drama “There Will Be Blood” by Paul Thomas Anderson was named best foreign film.

24 February 2009, Tuesday
TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL

Will Yeşilçam apologize to Muslims?

Ekrem Dumanli / Todays Zaman
Will Yeşilçam apologize to Muslims?
Wednesday, 18 February 2009

In my previous article I had asked, "Will Hollywood apologize to Muslims?" and I expressed my views about cinema, beliefs, biases and stereotypes by drawing examples from Hollywood productions.
Actually, we don't have to go so far in order to ask this question. Who can say that the Muslim stereotyping in our own cinema industry is so true to reality that we should expect the cinema sectors in other countries to follow suit?

Before going any further, I would like to clarify what I mean by bias or stereotype: If the same cliché is insistently used to refer to the same group, then it certainly means that there is bias toward that group. This applies to every group or people, and it is a clear sign of discrimination and hate. If one group is always depicted with the same characterization of its members and these characters are always evil and if, as part of the same strategy, some people are always shown as good, then it is obvious that there is bias or some preconception at work. This is because no group can be collectively "good" or "evil."

The Turkish cinema sector has long pursued negative attitudes against religion and devout people and attempted to develop a negative stereotype of them. Until recently, almost all portrayals of clerical officials, kadıs (religious judges), hodcas and pilgrims have been negative. People who seem to be devout in appearance have been portrayed as secretly malicious. Is there no exception to these stereotypes? No, unfortunately. Moreover, this unrelenting attempt to create such stereotypes has never let up.

It is wrong to suggest that this can be explained by negative attitudes against religion on the part of scriptwriters or producers. Indeed, this attempt has been aggravated, in part, by official policies. The "fanatical cleric" stereotype is a recurring theme in all fictional works (novels, short stories, plays) published since the early years of the republic. Such characterizations of devout people (or other pandemic preconceptions about other groups) cannot be correctly diagnosed unless they are viewed from a political vantage point. It is for this reason that we can find various forms of this stereotype, from the single-party regime to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) era.

The negative portrayal of clerics and devout people that started after the establishment of the republic continued for some time and the nation perceived this portrayal as a "hatred of religion." There may be factors that justify this perception, but the point here is not about believing in or denying a certain religion. A new regime was established and, like every new regime, the Republic of Turkey thought that the previous era had to be defaced. Therefore, all values that belonged to the previous era were to be portrayed as evil while the values of the new regime were to be glorified. All people that represented the old regime were characterized in films as traitors, collaborators and liars. On the other hand, those who symbolized the new regime were promoted as idealistic, hardworking and self-sacrificing. The old regime was represented by fanatical religious people or superficial clerics, while the new regime was represented by teachers, physicians and engineers.

Ultimately it was religion and science that were pitted against each other. In an atmosphere where nothing is expressed openly, the row was going on between tradition and modernism. In the picture portrayed for the spectators were those who represented the return of the old regime (reactionary people) and those who fed on positivism but, at the same time, tried to cling to the nation through national values (progressive people). Later, the names and forms of these symbols changed, but the characterization remained the same. Advocates of innovation were always "progressive and intellectual" types, while proponents of tradition were always "reactionary and fanatical."

It seems that our cinema sector and democratic quest have made parallel progress. As the freedom of expression and belief has expanded, these characterizations were modified. Now let us look at the following main developments briefly and try to make sense of them according to eras: the single-party era, the introduction of the multiparty regime, the years of military coups, the rise of left-wing movements, the rise of nationalist movements and the rise of conservative movements. Now let us treat these main developments briefly and try to make sense of them according to eras.
The era of stage actors and the building of a new regime

Some of the striking films produced between 1922 and 1939, known as the era of stage actors in the history of Turkish cinema, should be viewed as an effort to contribute the nation building process that was in the works then. The dominant personality of this era was, without a doubt, Muhsin Ertuğrul. "Ateşten Gömlek," a film adapted from Halide Edip Adıvar's novel of the same title, is regarded as one of the first successful films on the War of Independence. "Bir Millet Uyanıyor," directed by Ertuğrul in 1923, serves as the unforgettable model for the subsequent wave of films about the war. The common theme of these films was the enthusiasm of building a new state. Two films, both directed by Ertuğrul, should be noted in particular, as they created the clerical official prototypes for subsequent films: "Aynaros Kadısı" and "Bir Kavuk Devrildi."

Another recurrent theme in the era of stage actors is the Bektaşi sheikh, seen first in "Nur Baba" (1922). This sheik is a lustful, ambitious and devious type and the Bektaşi lodges are places where wild parties are held. After Bektaşis raided the film set and several incidents broke out, the producers started to act with caution in their portrayals of Alevis and Bektaşis. Later, open references to Bektaşis were removed from the films. Instead, only sheiks and their lodges tended to be discussed. Nevertheless, there were still references to the struggle between the old and the new.
"Aynaros Kadısı," which was originally written as a play by Musahipzade in 1927 but was adapted for the screen by Ertuğrul in 1938, is the most striking example of the stereotyping of clerics and religious people. The film intentionally revolves around a kadı because this allows the director to offer his biased portrayal of a cleric and, at the same, denigrate the Ottoman legal system. It should be clear that this judge is deceitful and lustful and takes bribes, amongst other things. Despite some harsh criticism, Yeşilçam never found the courage to develop new perspectives. Ertuğrul maintained the same characterizations in his subsequent films. In "Bir Kavuk Devrildi," for example, you can find the same characters and themes.

These prototypes, which were invented with the motive of lending ideological support to the newly founded state, are understandable in the context of their time. But today the film sector must realize the realities behind them and engage in some self-criticism. While the clerical officials -- and devout people -- heartily supported the War of Independence and while the first Parliament's respect for religion is well known, the Turkish filmmaking sector insistently opted to denigrate and humiliate religion and devout people, which had bad consequences. The constant portrayal of clerics as evil and disgusting characters has led to the alienation of the nation from cinema.

For some reason, clerics were portrayed as opponents of the national struggle. Clearly this does not correspond to historical realities. As a matter of fact, while there were some clerics who were against the national liberation movement, one cannot deny the support provided by the majority. Yet one can never find a positive portrayal of them in film. I do not want to do injustice to the filmmaking sector, as these negative stereotyping attempts are not limited to cinema. All fictional works suffer from this defect. "New" is represented by teachers, while "old" is symbolized by clerics. This applies both to novels and plays.

The unchanging cliché of the transition era: religion and religious people

The eruption of World War II had negative effects both on world cinema in general and the Turkish filmmaking sector in particular. At the end of this phase, known as the transition era, stage actors left the scene to directors. But the influence of stage actors was still visible in the films of this era. In 1948, the sector became financially supported by the state following a series of legal measures and this ushered in a diversification of the themes of the films. In 1949 the landmark film of negatively stereotyping clerics was produced: "Vurun Kahpeye." Directed by Lütfü Ö. Akad, "Vurun Kahpeye" pits the idealistic and enlightened teacher Aliye and the devious, devout cleric Hacı Fettah against each other. The most striking scene in the film is the lynching of Aliye by the "pro-sultan Hacı Fettah and the ignorant mob led by him." The film was adapted from Halide Edip Adıvar's novel of the same title. Her novel has been adapted to cinema three times and each time it has created major reactions. In its latest adaptation, Halif Refiğ adopted a delicate and cautious approach. Nevertheless, its damage in terms of stereotyping is great.

Interestingly, the Turkish cinema sector tends to portray the clerics as devious, ambitious, unreliable or lustful types while it refrains from making similar negative generalizations about other professions. Teachers are always respected, police officers are characterized as dignified people, soldiers are shown as symbols of national dignity and judges are portrayed as models of justice. Is it possible for any profession to include nothing but good people? Of course not. However, this is a consequence of the nation-building process. The fact that our stereotypes do not correspond to the stereotypes of world cinema is clear proof of the influence of political and social engineering projects on the Turkish cinema sector. In a later article, we will continue to discuss how internal dynamics have affected the cinema sector from the point of view of their perception of religion and devout people.

Should I Really Do It?

Should I Really Do It official website

Bunu Gerçekten Yapmalı Mıyım? Should I Really Do It? 86", 35mmColor, German with English subtitles

Feature film by Ismail Necmi [1], starring Petra Woschniak. This real-life-feature follows the extraordinary life of Petra, a German woman living in Istanbul, in an ironic inversion of the Turkish migrant to Germany. Her life will take such strange turns you’ll think she’s following a script. But really, we’re watching a real life protagonist evolve in the face of life. For, ultimately, nothing is ever as surprising as life. Except, perhaps, fiction… During her sessions with Herold, a masked therapist, her life will unfold before our eyes and we will learn about everything: Istanbul, Germany, family, friends, drugs and death. Should I Really Do It? plays with these concepts of real life and fiction, documentary and drama. Could life ever be more interesting than fiction?The film's soundtrack was composed by Serkan Alkan, with additional tracks composed by Turkish-Techno musician, Mercan Dede.

The film was selected for international competition in both the 2008 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and the 2008 !F Istanbul International Film Festival.[3][1] In 2007, it was also recognized with selection in the 'Mediterranean Films Crossing Borders' programme of the Berlin International Film Festival and the 'European Films Crossing Borders' programme of the Cannes Film Festival.

[1] Ismail Necmi works as an independent photographer and filmmaker. Born in Turkey in 1970, he graduated from Istanbul University / Law Faculty. From 1988 to 1992, he worked on a number of movies, short movies, TV series and photo shoots. From 1993 to 2004, he worked as an editor and video graphic designer for ARD German TV Studio in Istanbul. As a photographer, he worked on his own projects: “Transformation” (2001), a solo Black & White photography exhibition in Dulcinea Istanbul, and “The image is YOU!”, a Black & White Interactive Photography Project launched in 2002, among others. Between 2006 and 2007, he worked as an instructor in Visual Communication Design and Photography and Video at Istanbul Bilgi University. In 2005, he started his own production company, “IN Works Istanbul”. In February 2008, he finished his début real-life-feature film, Should I really do it? which he produced and directed.

Contact: In Works Istanbul İsmail Necmi Hayriye Cad. 5/7, 34433 Galatasaray İstanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 212 292 5538 Fax: +90 212 292 5539 E-mail: info@ismailnecmi.com

The 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

The 11th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century will take place from the 13th to the 22nd of March 2009.

The TDF is carried out every March in Thessaloniki since its inception in 1999 and under the umbrella of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival organization. Through its tributes and retrospectives, the TDF focuses on filmmakers with unique cinematic voices, internationally renowned for their contribution to the documentary genre. Dimitri Eipides, the Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century, has always believed that “recording reality is the most important and most contemporary element of civilization.”

CONTACTS THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL - IMAGES OF THE 21st CENTURY Address: 9 Αlexandras Avenue, GR-11473 Athens, Greece Tel: (+30 210) 87 06 000 Fax: (+30 210) 64 48 143 email: documentary@filmfestival.gr

SIYAD 2008 Awards Nominations

SİYAD - Sinema Yazarları Derneği / Turkish Film Critics Association announced 2008 Awards Nominations

Best Film
* ARA (Yapımcılar: Ümit ÜNAL, Mustafa USLU)* RIZA (Yapımcılar: Tayfun PİRSELİMOĞLU, İlknur AKANLAR)* SONBAHAR (Yapımcı: F. Serkan ACAR)* TATİL KITABI (Yapımcılar: Yamaç OKUR, Nadir ÖPERLİ)* ÜÇ MAYMUN (Yapımcı: Zeynep ÖZBATUR)

Best Direction
* Özcan ALPER (Sonbahar)* Nuri Bilge CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)* Kazım ÖZ (Fırtına)* Tayfun PİRSELİMOĞLU (Rıza)* Ümit ÜNAL (Ara)

Best Female Performance
* Demet AKBAĞ (O... Çocukları)* Hatice ASLAN (Üç Maymun)* Ayça DAMGACI (Gitmek)* Selen UÇER (Ara)* Nurgül YEŞİLÇAY (Vicdan)

Best male Performance
* Erdem AKAKÇE (Ara)* Rıza AKIN (Rıza)* Yavuz BİNGÖL (Üç Maymun)* Onur SAYLAK (Sonbahar)* Cem YILMAZ (A.R.O.G: Bir Yontmataş Filmi)

Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role
* Nurcan EREN (Rıza)* Vahide GÖRDÜM (Devrim Arabaları)* Megi KOBALADZE (Sonbahar)* Yıldız KÜLTÜR (Issız Adam)* Tülin ÖZEN (Vicdan)

Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role
* Taner BİRSEL (Tatil Kitabı)* Serkan KESKİN (Sonbahar)* Volga SORGU (Gitmek)* Ahmet Rıfat ŞUNGAR (Üç Maymun)* Onur ÜNSAL (Devrim Arabaları)

Best original Screenplay
* Özcan ALPER (Sonbahar)* Ebru CEYLAN, Ercan KESAL, Nuri Bilge CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)* Tayfun PİRSELİMOĞLU (Rıza)* İnan TEMELKURAN (Made in Europe)* Ümit ÜNAL (Ara)

Best Cinematography
* Arnau Valls COLOMER (Tatil Kitabı)* Feza ÇALDIRAN (Sonbahar)* Colin MOUNIER (Rıza)* Gökhan TİRYAKİ (Üç Maymun)* Soykut TURAN (A.R.O.G: Bir Yontmataş Filmi)

Best Musical Score
* Goran BREGOVIC (Mustafa)* Mazlum ÇİMEN (Son Cellat)* Demir DEMİRKAN (Devrim Arabaları)* Ayşenur KOLİVAR, Yuri YEDCANKO, Sumru AĞIRYÜRÜYEN, Onok BOZKURT (Sonbahar)* Evanthia REBOUTSIKA (Ulak)

Best Editing
* Erhan ACAR JR. (A.R.O.G: Bir Yontmataş Filmi)* Thomas BALKENHOL (Sonbahar)* Ayhan ERGÜRSEL, Bora GÖKŞİNGÖL, Nuri Bilge CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)* Çiçek KAHRAMAN (Ara)* İnan TEMELKURAN (Made in Europe)

Best Art Direction
* Ebru CEYLAN (Üç Maymun)* Veli KAHRAMAN (Devrim Arabaları)* Mustafa Ziya ÜLKENCİLER (Ulak)* Hakan YARKIN (A.R.O.G: Bir Yontmataş Filmi)* Natali YERES (Rıza)

Best Documentary Film
* Bu Ne Güzel Demokrasi! (Yönetmenler: Belmin SÖYLEMEZ, Berke BAŞ, Haşmet TOPALOĞLU, Somnur VARDAR)* Devrimci Gençlik Köprüsü (Yönetmen: Bahriye KABADAYI)* Son Kumsal (Yönetmen: Rüya Arzu KÖKSAL)* 3 Saat (Yönetmen: Can CANDAN)* Volga Volga (Yönetmen: Ayşegül TAŞKENT)

Best Short Film
* Ayak Altında (Yönetmen: M. Cem ÖZTÜFEKÇİ)* Gemeinschaft (Yönetmen: Özlem AKIN)* Pembe İnek (Yönetmen: Onur GÜRSOY)* Süt ve Çikolata (Yönetmen: Senem TÜZEN)* Unus Mundus (Yönetmen: Senem TÜZEN)

Wrong Rosary|Uzak İhtimal Images

Review | Wrong Rosary

Rotterdam
Wrong Rosary| Uzak ihtimal (Turkey)
By JAY WEISSBERG | Variety

A Hokusfokus Film production. Produced by Tulin Cetinkol Soyarslan, Ismail Kilicarslan, Tarik Tufan, Mahmut Fazil Coskun.
Directed by Mahmut Fazil Coskun. Screenplay, Tarik Tufan, Gorkem Yeltan.

With: Nadir Saribacak, Gorkem Yeltan, Ersan Uysal.

The plot sounds like something out of a Harold Robbins novel, but Mahmut Fazil Coskun carefully eliminates any hint of melodrama with the spare, measured, observational visuals of his debut, "Wrong Rosary." Set in an Istanbul of windy streets, antiquarian bookstores and seafront cafes, pic underplays all the elements of the impossible love between a young muezzin and a sheltered woman raised to be a nun, making the city itself a character through which the protags communicate. More incisive personalities would increase sympathies; nevertheless, fests will genuflect, especially after the pic's Tiger win at Rotterdam.

Fresh from Ankara, Musa (Nadir Saribacak) arrives in the Galata section of Istanbul to take up his first job as a muezzin, leading the calls to prayer at a small mosque. Shy and inexperienced but reasonably educated, he moves into an apartment that comes with the job, next door to an elderly, bedridden woman looked after by painfully retiring caretaker Clara (Gorkem Yeltan). Musa timidly watches the excessively reserved Clara, who barely looks at him, let alone speaks.

He follows her to the local church, where he encounters Yakup (Ersan Uysal), an old book dealer with his own, undefined interest in Clara. The two men coincidentally strike up a conversation (pic has a few too many coincidences), and Yakup hires Musa part-time to help him with Ottoman-era tomes. Gradually, Clara's confidence is won, and the hesitant glances she and Musa exchange reveal an emotion stronger than mere friendship.

Pic's title comes from an early, amusing scene: Clara drops her rosary, Musa picks it up, but before returning it, he goes to work at the mosque. During services, his hands automatically go to his prayer beads; rather than fingering his own, he mistakenly uses the "wrong" rosary. Only when he drops it off in her collection plate at church does she finally speak. The script takes this near-pathological mousiness too far, and the pic's greatest flaw is the unmodulated shyness exhibited by Clara and, to a lesser degree, Musa.

What saves it all is Coskun's subtle use of Galata's interiors and exteriors, providing the characters with quiet conduits and safe havens from the outside world. Little, however, is made of the religious institutions, and Musa's job as muezzin is all but forgotten halfway through. Perfs match the tamped-down quality of the visuals, and if Yeltan too often looks like a fawn caught in the headlights, presumably that's exactly how she's been directed to behave.

Refik Cakar's camerawork favors an observational, almost voyeuristic distance, with frequent shots from below that amplify the sense of hesitation and restraint. Colors, too, are muted, diffused like the emotions to guarantee no meller excess.

Camera (color), Refik Cakar; editor, Cicek Kahraman; music, Rahman Altin; production designer, Selda Cicek; costume designer, Hale Issever; sound (Dolby Digital), Duygu Celikkol, Murat Celikkol, Nurkut Ozdemir; assistant director, Ayhan Ozen; casting, Harika Uygur, Family Ajans. Reviewed at Rotterdam Film Festival (competing), Jan. 29, 2009. Running time: 90 MIN.

Wrong Rosary | Uzak Ihtimal 2009

Directed by: Mahmut Fazil Coskun[1] Produced by:Tülin Soyarslan Screenplay: Ismail Kilicarslan, Gorkem Yeltan, Tarik Tufan, Bektaş Topaloğlu Director of Photography: Refik Cakar Edited by: Çiçek Kahraman Art Direction: Selda Çiçek Music: Rahman Altın Cast: Nadir Saribacak, Gorkem Yeltan, Ersan Uysal; Production & Sales: Hokus Fokus, mahmutfazil@gmail.com, +90 533 810 57 97

Mahmut Fazil Coskun’s Istanbul-set Wrong Rosary, a muezzin (the person who leads the call to the mosque’s Friday service) falls in love with his neighbor, who happens to be a Catholic nurse.
[1] Mahmut Fazil COSKUN (1973, Turkey) attended courses at the Bilgi University in Istanbul from 2001 until 2004. Wrong Rosary is his feature début.

From RIFF

"A wonderful atmosphere from Istanbul, where a peculiar love story takes place: muezzin Musa falls for his neighbour, the Catholic nurse Clara. The story gets even more exceptional when Musa meets Yakup, who turns out to be connected with Clara. Different ambiances of a multi-religious and multicultural city.

This is a story of sensuality, love and grief, growing in the anonymity of a big modern city. It takes place in present-day Istanbul, in Galata. Musa is a beginning muezzin who comes to the city for the first time in his life. He is assigned to work in a mosque and receives an apartment. Upon his arrival he meets his next door neighbour Clara, a Catholic nurse. She takes care of the older nurse, Sister Anna. Excitement and a simultaneously warm sensation emerge from this first encounter. In the beginning, the young muezzin is quite hesitant to confess to himself what is actually happening, but as time passes his love for Clara pervades his life. Another storyline emerges when Musa comes across the bibliophile Yakup at the church that Clara attends regularly, and starts working for him. A few surprises and unexpected turns emerge when the lives of the three intersect.

Slow-paced, with a pleasant rhythm and an eye for detail, the film depicts different ambiances of multi-religious Istanbul, within its distinctive spaces and through the stories of a variety of unusual characters. This exceptional début by Mahmut Fazil Coskun is certainly a strong voice amongst the up-and-coming young talents from Turkey. (LC)

Rotterdam 2009 Award for Wrong Rosary|Uzak İhtimal

Mahmut Fazil Coskun with his award (in the middle)

2009 Rotterdam Film Festival: Jan. 21-Feb. 1, 2009 VPRO Tiger Awards: Be Calm and Count to Seven (Aram bash va ta haft beshmar) by Ramtin Lavafipour (Iran), Breathless (Ddongpari) by Yang Ik-June (South Korea) and Wrong Rosary (Uzak ihtimal) by Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey)

During the IFFR 2009 Awards Ceremony on Friday, January 30, 2009 in the Rotterdamse Schouwburg, the winning films of the 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced. The three VPRO Tiger Awards were granted to the Hubert Bals Fund supported film Be Calm and Count to Seven (Aram bash va ta haft beshmar) by Ramtin Lavafipour (Iran), to Breathless (Ddongpari) by Yang Ik-June (South Korea), and to Wrong Rosary (Uzak ihtimal) by Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey).

On Saturday January 31st, 2009 the KPN Audience Award and the Dioraphte Award for Best Hubert Bals Fund Supported Film 2009 will be announced. VPRO Tiger Awards Fourteen films by first or second filmmakers competed in the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2009.

The Jury consists visual artist Marlene Dumas (South Africa/The Netherlands), Turkish writer, filmmaker and Jury Chair Yesim Ustaoglu (her Journey To The Sun (1999) and recent Pandora’s Box, both supported by the Hubert Bals Fund, screen in the festival), Mr Park Ki-Yong, Director of the Korean Academy of Arts and Co-Director of the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival, Hungarian writer, director and actor Kornél Mundruczó (his Delta screens in the festival) and Kent Jones, Associate Director of Programming Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York.

The jury statements on the VPRO Tiger Award winning Wrong Rosary (Uzak ihtimal) by Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey, 2008) ‘A uniquely creative film of the most eloquent simplicity, a film built from a feeling of immediacy, moment by moment, breath by breath; a film that builds an absolutely unique form of suspense; a film that stays true to itself from beginning to end.’

Each VPRO Tiger Award comes with a prize of Euro 15,000 and guaranteed broadcast by Dutch public television network VPRO.

Rotterdam 2009 |Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun interview

Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun: a new voice in Turkish cinema Turkish cinema kicks off this year’s international adventures with a welcome surprise. Award-winning documentary director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun’s impressive feature debut “Uzak İhtimal” (Wrong Rosary) is enjoying its world premiere here, at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009. What more, Coşkun’s film is among the 14 feature films that are competing for the festival’s top prize, the Tiger award, and it’s the first Turkish entry to be included in the main lineup throughout the 38-year history of the festival. For me, talking to Coşkun in Rotterdam has a special meaning because about seven years ago, we were studying film in the same master’s degree program. Knowing him in this context surely caused us to diverge from the path of the conventional interview -- it takes us about 30 minutes before we can actually stop ourselves from laughing and joking. I realize that there is one thing that strikes me about Coşkun, besides being talented, he was always a very humble, self-effacing and warm person, and it’s rather relieving to see that he hasn’t lost these rare qualities, as sometimes it’s quite difficult to meet someone on the cultural scene who doesn’t have an ego the size of the Hindenburg. In this regard, I am not surprised to see that his cinematic style reflects his distinct type of ease and idiosyncratic humor, without ever becoming superficial. “Wrong Rosary” is the simple story of a fresh-faced muezzin called Musa, appointed to İstanbul’s Galata region, and falls in love with Clara, a reticent and devout Catholic nurse who lives next door. The story might sound like a contemporary version of the TV melodrama “The Thorn Birds,” but do not be fooled. It is simply a contemplative and quiet journey about an impossible love between two very nice people. Big words are not spoken, there is no schmaltzy drama, just the fact that these two people never dare express their adoration for each other. Coşkun’s style is not a judgmental one, and his strange mixture of compassion and humor toward his characters are touching. In one scene, Musa is talking with his superior at the mosque, a wise and pious imam. The imam cheekily probes him over whether he has a love interest. Musa denies it only to get the reply: “Come on, I know you are thinking of a girl. I hope she’s also a believer, because you’ll never get hurt by a believer,” a beautiful line that sums up the irony of the situation. For Coşkun, his film does not have any political undertones and is not predominantly about the unspoken walls between religions. Rather, it is about the very universal situation of humans not being able to fully express themselves and communicate their feelings. We also talk about the process of the production of his film. Turkish filmmaker Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun poses for a portrait at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where his debut feature premiered this week. How did you get the idea to make this film and how long was the process of getting it off the ground? Two years ago, we had the idea with a writer friend of mine to make a trilogy titled “Three Things” -- which would be about the concepts of love, money and religion. We couldn’t really come up with something that was satisfying. Then I focused on the concept of religion, but in that light, it was to be about impossible love. I’m not a writer, I brought together a group of people (Tarık Tufan, Görkem Yeltan and İsmail Kılıçarslan) who would write the script. Was it easy to gather the funding and get the film rolling? It wasn’t easy. Although we received production support from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, we ran out of money halfway through the production. Luckily, later on, Bank Asya sponsored us so we were able to complete the film; however, I still think it’s very difficult to finance a film in Turkey -- the Culture Ministry is almost the only body that provides funding. And what about the production process? Was it easy to work with the crew? Unfortunately it takes a lot of convincing to put together a cast and crew for feature films. I realize that because so many crew members have such difficult working conditions on the sets of television series where they normally work at, they almost lose their will and spirit when it comes to making movies. It’s very difficult to establish a spirit of camaraderie. On that note, I felt very tired and discouraged once filming was over. But thankfully, we had a great editor on board, Çiçek Kahraman, who really helped us in attaining a satisfying result. What are your main influences? And which Turkish directors do you like? I’m a huge Woody Allen fan. I also admire Semih Kaplanoğlu. What if we asked you to sum up “Wrong Rosary” in just one sentence? You know I wish I could really answer that question, but I really can’t. If I were able to sum everything up in one sentence, I don’t think I would be making films. 30 January 2009, Friday EMINE YILDIRIM ROTTERDAM

Rotterdam | Young Turkish Cinema Introduction

Young Turkish Cinema Introduction
Ludmila Cvikova
l.cvikova@filmfestivalrotterdam.com

When is the right time to pay attention to a film industry in a specific region, and why would one actually do so?

In September 2008, the IFFR had a first meeting in Holland with a number of young Turkish film critics, some of whom are affiliated with the prestigious film critic magazine Altyazi, to discuss recent developments occurring in the Turkish film industry. A few more meetings followed, among others during the Festival on Wheels in Kars and later on in Istanbul. Our discussions initially revolved around the generation of film makers who began their careers in the 1990s and have achieved worldwide acknowledgement with outstanding auteurs cinema, such as Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Yesim Ustaouglu, or Semih Kaplanoglu, but later on we also focused on the newest generation and names that have appeared recently. As the IFFR is known for its focus on young and upcoming talents, the outline for our special thematic programme started to take shape. The Altyazi film critics embraced this concept, as they agreed that there is a lot of young talent within Turkish cinema worth paying special attention to.

Another interesting phenomenon that should not go unnoticed is that a new generation of young film critics are closely following what is happening in film in their country – the ideal combination of a generation that is artistically and intellectually connected. (Although it was never a formally organised film movement, weren’t the film critics who came up with the blanket term of French new wave in the sixties in fact French?)

The year 2008 was exceptionally dynamic and successful for Turkish cinema and directors. Let’s have a chronological look at their concrete successes: The film débutMy Marlon and Brando (Gitmek) by Hüseyin Karabey, a semi-biographical love story about a young Turkish woman, Ayca, and her journey to Northern Iraq to meet her great love, Hama Ali, a Kurdish man. It was successfully presented during the IFFR in January and received many acclaims thereafter.
Another rewarding presentation of a first film at a big festival followed very shortly after – this time it was the picturesque and moving story of a Turkish family in a provincial Mediterranean town – Summer Book made by Seyfi Teoman and presented at the Berlinale.
The Best Director award at Cannes for Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys was a very much expected acknowledgement for this extraordinary visually depicted family drama with outstanding acting.
Autumn (Sonbahar), a film that tackles the issues of forsaken young generations in Turkey and their struggle for social change, directed by Özcan Alper, who according to Variety is an ‘impressive new voice in Turkish cinema’, was selected for the International Film Competition at the 61st Locarno Film Festival and awarded the CICAE Prize.

Milk (SÜT), the second part in Semih Kaplanoglu’s Yusuf Trilogy, in which he sketches the progressive industrialisation of the countryside, was selected for the competition section of the 65th Venice International Film Festival, while the first part of the trilogy, Egg (Yumurta), was included in Sight&Sound magazine’s list, ‘The Best of 2008 – 50 Critics 150 Films’.
First-time director Selim Evci’s film Two Lines (Iki Cizgi), in which he observes the young generation’s male-female relationships in modern Turkey, took part in the 23rd International Film Critics Week of the Venice IFF.

Yesim Ustaouglu and her work have been supported by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund since 1999. Ustaoglu’s latest project, Pandora’s Box (Pandora’nin kutusu), was successfully presented last September in San Sebastian and awarded two prizes: a Golden Seashell for Yesim Ustaoglu and a Silver Seashell for Tsilla Chelton as best actress. It is the story of a Turkish family in which the modern world meets the old, alienation and isolation occur and individuals go through universally understandable self-discovery.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that this year for the first time the IDFA competition included a Turkish documentary, On the Way to School by Orhan Eskikoy and Özgür Dogan.

Actually, the last decade and a half has been a good time for Turkish cinema, and that’s why we have selected for this special programme some older films that have played an important role. After the collapse of many production companies in the mid-1990s, the actual number of films decreased but films with a new sort of funding increased – directors took over the production of their own films. The rising artistic quality of some of those films hasn’t remained unnoticed. No one knew who Dervis Zaim was when his low-budget cinema-verité style début Summersaults in a Coffin (Tabutta Rövasata) came out in 1996, but he was soon to become a household name for young Turkish film enthusiasts, inspiring a few independent Turkish films produced in the next decade, among them Zeki Demirkubuz’s Innocence(Masumiyet) from 1997. This important film, supported by a great cast, redefined the genre of melodrama, which has been inherent in the Turkish movie culture ever since the 1960s.

The Small Town (Kasaba, 1997), the directorial début of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, is a wonderful black-and-white intimate family portrait based on an autobiographical story, a film that still continues to maintain its irreplaceable position in Turkish cinema with its inspirational minimalism that, together with his following works, would make Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s name as a directorial genius.
The first film by the social-realist film collective Yeni Sinemacilar, On Board(Gemide, 1998) by Serdar Akar, began a new style of filmmaking in Turkey: straightforward and thought-provoking. This film continues to exert its unique influence over independent Turkish cinema.
Yesim Ustaoglu’s second feature Journey To The Sun (Gunese Yolculuk, 1999) was an arresting portrait, with a pronounced documentary-style feel, of the oppression of the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

Semih Kaplanoglu’s unique narrative style in Angel’s Fall (Melegin Dususu, 2004)and his use of end-to-beginning chronological flashbacks of his protagonist’s life in the provinces in his Yusuf Trilogy, would heighten his virtuosity through his contemplative reflection on the concept of ‘time’.

Besides films you may have already seen throughout the year, we are proud to present you a few new titles that will have their premières during the IFF Rotterdam 2009: A dynamically shot story of two friends who get into deep trouble in Istanbul’s chaotic underground scene, Black Dogs Barking (Kara köpekler havlarken ), a directorial début by Maryna Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadir Er.
Kazim Öz’s second feature The Storm (Bahoz) is a true-to-life epic of a group of Kurdish students at the Istanbul University in anticipation of social revolution.

And last but not least, for the first time ever in the IFFR’s Tiger Award Competition, a Turkish film: Wrong Rosary by Mahmet Fazil Coskun, a story of sensuality, love and grief growing within the anonymity of a big city between the young muezzin Musa and the Catholic nurse Clara, in today’s Istanbul. This exceptional début by Mahmut Fazil Coskun is certainly a strong representative of up and coming young talent from Turkey.

We are quite sure that new names and films will still be appearing as you read these words or are enjoying watching the films that we have selected for you from these two generations. Only time will tell us what the present dynamics of the Turkish film industry will mean for the history of Turkish cinema. Enjoy this wonderful, challenging visual trip to this modern and modernising culture!

With special and enormous thanks to Emine Yildirim, and many special thanks to Gozde Onaran, Senem Aytac, Nadir Operli, Yamac Okur, Seyfi Teoman and Christine Dollhofer.
During the IFFR 2009, a special Young Turkish Cinema booklet will be available. It is written, edited and published by the film critics of Altyazi film magazine in co-operation with the IFFR and Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz, Austria