Samenvatting
38th International Film Festival Rotterdam January 21 – February 1, 2009 PRESS RELEASE January 9, 2009 · Turkish feature début in Rotterdam’s Tiger Awards Competition · Yesim Ustaoglu member of Tiger Awards Jury · IFFR 2009 presents theme section Young Turkish Cinema Contemporary Turkish cinema gets a high profile during the upcoming International Film Festival Rotterdam, which opens January 21, 2009. Uzak ihtimal (Wrong Rosary), feature début by Mahmut Fazil Coskun, is nominated for a VPRO Tiger Award, Rotterdam festival’s top prize. Turkish filmmaker Yesim Ustaoglu (her Journey to the Sun (1999) and recent Pandora’s Box, both supported by Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, screen in the festival) is a member of the Tiger Awards Jury 2009. Belma Bas’ film project Zephyr, produced by Filmik Productions, has been selected for CineMart 2009. The IFFR 2009 theme film program ‘Young Turkish Cinema’ explores the remarkable rise and recent development of independent film making in Turkey. On the occasion, Turkish film magazine Altyazi publishes a special issue and IFFR organizes, in collaboration with the KNF (Dutch Circle of Film Critics) a discussion among the film journalists attending the festival. Uzak ihtimal (Wrong Rosary) is a story of love and grief in the anonymity of a big modern city. After been assigned to work in Istanbul, Musa, a beginning muezzin, receives an apartment. Upon his arrival he meets his neighbour Clara, a Catholic nurse. After this first encounter, the young muezzin is quite hesitant to confess to himself what is happening, but as time passes his love for Clara pervades his life. This exceptional début by Mahmut Fazil Coskun is certainly a strong voice amongst the up-and-coming young talents from Turkey. Filmmakers like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Semih Kaplanoglu and Yesim Ustaoglu, whose early works have been supported by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, are successful both in Turkey and abroad. A younger generation follows in their footsteps. ‘Young Turkish Cinema’, compiled by festival programmer Ludmila Cvikova, brings together recent works by both generations of Turkish filmmakers (see film list below). The IFFR collaborates with Istanbul-based film magazine Altyazi to publish an investigative special issue about the thriving Turkish film scene. During the IFFR 2009, this 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. On the occasion of the special theme program, the IFFR organizes in collaboration with the KNF (Circle of Dutch Film Critics) a discussion about the Young Turkish Cinema among the attending Turkish film critics, as well as Dutch and international film critics present at the festival. The discussion will be held on Saturday 24th January between 17-18 hours at the Van Capellen Auditorium in ‘De Doelen’, Rotterdam and it will be moderated by renowned US film critic Howard Feinstein. The films included in the section Young Turkish Cinema: Tabutta rövasata (Somersault in a Coffin) by Dervis Zaim (1996, 80’) A social outcast’s daily adventures couldn’t be more endearing; Mahsun looks like he just escaped from Folsom Prison but his genuineness and warm-hearted kindness make him a one in a million. Acclaimed Turkish filmer Zaim’s debut, with hints of tragicomedy, is a melancholically striking account of a drifter's life in Istanbul. Kasaba (The Small Town) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (1997, 85) screenings to be confirmed! Awe-inspiring black-and-white début film of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, shot in a village in Anatolia, about the director's childhood years. Two children are witness to the mysteries of life, in four parts that run parallel to the four seasons. Masumiyet (Innocence) by Zeki Demirkubuz (1997, 110’) Society has turned its back on Bekir, Ugur and Yusuf, three marginals who look for love in the most unlikely places. Director Zeki Demirkubuz’s tour-de-force love-triangle drama strikes a high note as it transforms its distinctly local story into universal themes of loss, sacrifice and defeat. Gemide (On Board) by Serdar Akar (1998, 102’) screenings to be confirmed First film by the social-realist film collective Yeni Sinemacilar, which became the harbinger of a new style of film making in Turkey: straightforward and thought provoking. The film makers' definition of their approach: 'refined depiction of dramas focusing on characters and socially important issues to Turkey by avoiding cliché patterns'. Günese yolculuk (Journey to the Sun) by Yesim Ustaoglu (1999, 113’) Two men of different origin, a western Turk and a Kurd. A true friendship that goes beyond cultural boundaries. Amidst the chaotic background of Istanbul and later a road trip to the East, these two will discover the true value of tolerance and belonging. Yesim Ustaoglu’s overpowering second feature with significant traces of docu-realism. Bahoz (The Storm) by Kazim Öz (2008, 156’, Hubert Bals Fund supported film, International premiere The 90s were the heyday of Turkey’s student movement, and acclaimed documentarist Kazim Öz’s second feature The Storm is a true-to-life epic of Kurdish students excitedly anticipating social revolution. Öz’s raw and intense style astutely captures the immediacy of young people aching to change their world. Tatil kitabi (Summer Book) by Seyfi Teoman (2008, 92’, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) A long summer vacation by the sea. An ordinary Turkish family whose life takes an unexpected turn. Told through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, this picturesque and moving début makes a lasting mark for director Seyfi Teoman, who grabbed 'best national film' at the 2008 Istanbul Film Festival. Yokus (The Slope) by Mehmet Can Mertoglu (2008, 14’) Sober yet effective début about a cleaner's routines in hospital. Iki çizgi (Two Lines) by Selim Evci (2008, 97’) Psychologically unnerving and sinisterly suspenseful, first-time director Selim Evci’s Two Lines is an acute observation of the young generation's male-female relationships in modern Turkey. A couple’s cat-and-mouse game culminates in a terrifying climax; established roles collapse and hearts are broken. Süt (Milk) by Semih Kaplanoglu (2008, 102’) A young emerging poet, his beautiful but unfulfilled mother and their small Turkish town are about to be swallowed by industrialization. A contemplative tableaux of rural life, an allegoric quest for the meaning of existence, family, adulthood and the challenges imposed by tradition. Milk shows us the making of an Artist. Pandora'nin kutusu (Pandora’s Box) by Yesim Ustaoglu (2008, 112’, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) An estranged family is brought together upon the news of their mother’s worsening illness. But the tough-minded mother is not so keen on spending time with her bickering adult children. With her teenage grandson she meets for the first time, she will develop a profound bond. Sonbahar (Autumn) by Özcan Alper (2008, 106’) Straight our of prison, the once political active Yusuf returns to his Black- Sea hometown. It isn’t just redemption he seeks but a peaceful asylum for his numbered days. His quiet life will take a passionate turn when he meets the beautiful Eka. The stunning début of Turkish Özcan Alper, this film speaks to your heart with its genuineness and exalting images. Kara köpekler havlarken (Black Dogs Barking) by Mehmet Bahadir Er & Maryna Gorbach (2009, 88, World premiere) A dynamic shooting-style, pitch-perfect written street lingo and a transfixing dog-eat-dog story form the essence of this exciting first feature about two friends who get into deep trouble in Istanbul’s chaotic underground scene. At times funny, at times tragic, but foremostly, jolting in its authenticity. The full program of the 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam will be online January 15, 2009 on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com. Tickets are available from the festival website from January 17, 2009.
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