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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 9 2013
Lusin Dink film portrays Saroyan as a human being, not a hero
This week the touching and contemplative docudrama `SaroyanLand' by
first-time director Lusin Dink comes to BaÅ?ka Sinema theatres.
First-time director Lusin Dink presents an essay-like picture that
dwells upon the subjects of identity, loss and confrontation of the
past in `SaroyanLand,' which opened in cinemas on Friday. (Photo:
Mehmet Yaman, Today's Zaman)
The film focuses on the legendary Armenian-American writer William
Saroyan, whose family is from Bitlis, and follows his inspiring
road-trip in 1963 that took him from Trabzon to Bitlis.
The film had premiered at the Ä°stanbul Film Festival in April and
later moved on to prestigious festivals such as Locarno, Yerevan
Golden Apricot, Antalya and finally Malatya, where it deservedly
received the best screenplay prize for Dink's intricate commentary and
interpretation of Saroyan's works.
What is so enticing about the film is that Dink, by selecting various
texts from Saroyan and by way of re-enactments, brings forth an
essay-like picture that compassionately and humanely dwells upon the
subjects of identity, loss and confrontation of the past.
Dink sat down with Today's Zaman for an interview about her film on
Sunday at the Kadıköy office of Nar Film, her film's production
company. Here's what she had to say about `SaroyanLand' and Saroyan.
You've been working as an assistant director for a long time in the
industry. How did you come to decide to make this film as your debut
feature?
To be honest, I never really sat down and specifically planned to do
this project about Saroyan. The idea came out naturally while I was
reading. The fact that I genuinely understood Saroyan's literature and
[related] to his writings was one of the reasons behind this endeavor.
But what is so interesting is that he died the year I was born, and I
was brought up in the land that he wanted to come back to. He grew up
in America dreaming of Anatolia. Despite the generation and geography
difference, I felt that I understood him and I felt a connection to
him. This notion made me ask the question, `Why?' As such, I read his
works more thoroughly. When I came upon his book `The Journey to
Bitlis,' I knew that this was the film I wanted to do. This trip was
already one of the most important trips in Saroyan's life. And a film
in itself is a journey.
Had you read Saroyan during your early studies in high school?
Yes I did, but only several stories. In high school, I didn't really
think about the world around me. Plus, we didn't really discover
Saroyan's later works. But the thing is that in literature and also in
arts we don't really try to profoundly discover the artists. The Aras
publishing house, however, took the initiative and printed Saroyan's
works in the early 2000s, which led me to discover and learn about him
even further.
How did you feel during the making of this movie? Did you ever have
any doubts or concerns, given the volatile situation in Turkey, a
country in which some people are ready to be judgmental very easily?
To be honest, I never had any apprehensions. There are a few reasons
for this. First, on a cinematic level, people are ready to dismiss
films as [just] bad or good. Filmmakers feel the force of some norms
in order to gain acceptance. The first thing I told myself was to let
myself go free and the rest would come. However, if I had forced
myself to follow some genre or structural expectations and clichés, as
a director I knew I would be lost. Second, the support of the
Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform [ETSP] and the Global Dialogue
Association helped us to cover half of our budget. The fact that they
believed in the project, along with many other people who supported
it, helped the project to develop and move further. We had also
applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's cinema fund, but we
did not receive any support.
The film premiered in the competition section of the Ä°stanbul Film
Festival. Were you happy about that?
We had tried our luck initially with A-list international festivals,
but then when we received the invitation from Ä°stanbul, I was very
happy. The festival definitely increased the visibility of the film
locally and internationally. Plus, I was very happy to open it here,
because the film is the story of the people from these lands and, as
such, I think Saroyan would have been very happy as well.
How were you able to manage to gather and compile the texts of
Saroyan? I couldn't imagine doing it myself; it seems like such a
difficult and intricate process.
Indeed it was a very difficult and paranoia-inducing process [laughs].
When you just write something by yourself, you are solely responsible
for that text. However, when the texts in question belong to a
renowned writer, then you have a lot of responsibility. I read
everything, and tried very hard to retrieve the most relevant and
important segments, while I was also considering in the back of my
head the things he liked -- such as his taste in music, what scents he
liked, what he liked to eat, etc. Basically, it was a very extensive
research. At the same time, I brought everything together in line with
my inner voice. I knew the film was not going to be a classical
biographic portrayal, and I knew in the beginning that I would not
show his personal life. It was always about his inner journey and his
thoughts.
What is so effective for me in the film is how you have chosen some of
the most touching and compassionate segments from Saroyan's writing.
Of course, there is so much sorrow underneath, but there is something
very embracing in the film that overrides anger and rage.
Of course this has to do with Saroyan's literature. I did not want to
create a kind of hero for the audience. I think this would have been
the last thing that Saroyan would want, anyway. That was not the way
he lived. The second thing is, actually Saroyan was an angry person.
What I mean is that he did not repress his anger; he was able to carry
this anger and confront it. So with all his contradictions, he was a
full-fledged human being. He was a `naked' man who accepted himself
for who he was. That's where his realism comes from. He is a man who
made choices and life is not made of pink dust and, yes, today we must
talk about fraternity and peace; however, Saroyan owned up to his past
without looking down. He did not get lost in the past, but he was also
able to carry the past on his shoulders. He is a person at peace with
himself. And he is a man who disapproved of all injustices and
massacres in the world. That is the kind of person I am as well;
otherwise, I couldn't have made this film.
http://www.todayszaman.com//news-333530-lusin-dink-film-portrays-saroyan-as-a-human-being-not-a-hero.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Dec 9 2013
Lusin Dink film portrays Saroyan as a human being, not a hero
This week the touching and contemplative docudrama `SaroyanLand' by
first-time director Lusin Dink comes to BaÅ?ka Sinema theatres.
First-time director Lusin Dink presents an essay-like picture that
dwells upon the subjects of identity, loss and confrontation of the
past in `SaroyanLand,' which opened in cinemas on Friday. (Photo:
Mehmet Yaman, Today's Zaman)
The film focuses on the legendary Armenian-American writer William
Saroyan, whose family is from Bitlis, and follows his inspiring
road-trip in 1963 that took him from Trabzon to Bitlis.
The film had premiered at the Ä°stanbul Film Festival in April and
later moved on to prestigious festivals such as Locarno, Yerevan
Golden Apricot, Antalya and finally Malatya, where it deservedly
received the best screenplay prize for Dink's intricate commentary and
interpretation of Saroyan's works.
What is so enticing about the film is that Dink, by selecting various
texts from Saroyan and by way of re-enactments, brings forth an
essay-like picture that compassionately and humanely dwells upon the
subjects of identity, loss and confrontation of the past.
Dink sat down with Today's Zaman for an interview about her film on
Sunday at the Kadıköy office of Nar Film, her film's production
company. Here's what she had to say about `SaroyanLand' and Saroyan.
You've been working as an assistant director for a long time in the
industry. How did you come to decide to make this film as your debut
feature?
To be honest, I never really sat down and specifically planned to do
this project about Saroyan. The idea came out naturally while I was
reading. The fact that I genuinely understood Saroyan's literature and
[related] to his writings was one of the reasons behind this endeavor.
But what is so interesting is that he died the year I was born, and I
was brought up in the land that he wanted to come back to. He grew up
in America dreaming of Anatolia. Despite the generation and geography
difference, I felt that I understood him and I felt a connection to
him. This notion made me ask the question, `Why?' As such, I read his
works more thoroughly. When I came upon his book `The Journey to
Bitlis,' I knew that this was the film I wanted to do. This trip was
already one of the most important trips in Saroyan's life. And a film
in itself is a journey.
Had you read Saroyan during your early studies in high school?
Yes I did, but only several stories. In high school, I didn't really
think about the world around me. Plus, we didn't really discover
Saroyan's later works. But the thing is that in literature and also in
arts we don't really try to profoundly discover the artists. The Aras
publishing house, however, took the initiative and printed Saroyan's
works in the early 2000s, which led me to discover and learn about him
even further.
How did you feel during the making of this movie? Did you ever have
any doubts or concerns, given the volatile situation in Turkey, a
country in which some people are ready to be judgmental very easily?
To be honest, I never had any apprehensions. There are a few reasons
for this. First, on a cinematic level, people are ready to dismiss
films as [just] bad or good. Filmmakers feel the force of some norms
in order to gain acceptance. The first thing I told myself was to let
myself go free and the rest would come. However, if I had forced
myself to follow some genre or structural expectations and clichés, as
a director I knew I would be lost. Second, the support of the
Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform [ETSP] and the Global Dialogue
Association helped us to cover half of our budget. The fact that they
believed in the project, along with many other people who supported
it, helped the project to develop and move further. We had also
applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's cinema fund, but we
did not receive any support.
The film premiered in the competition section of the Ä°stanbul Film
Festival. Were you happy about that?
We had tried our luck initially with A-list international festivals,
but then when we received the invitation from Ä°stanbul, I was very
happy. The festival definitely increased the visibility of the film
locally and internationally. Plus, I was very happy to open it here,
because the film is the story of the people from these lands and, as
such, I think Saroyan would have been very happy as well.
How were you able to manage to gather and compile the texts of
Saroyan? I couldn't imagine doing it myself; it seems like such a
difficult and intricate process.
Indeed it was a very difficult and paranoia-inducing process [laughs].
When you just write something by yourself, you are solely responsible
for that text. However, when the texts in question belong to a
renowned writer, then you have a lot of responsibility. I read
everything, and tried very hard to retrieve the most relevant and
important segments, while I was also considering in the back of my
head the things he liked -- such as his taste in music, what scents he
liked, what he liked to eat, etc. Basically, it was a very extensive
research. At the same time, I brought everything together in line with
my inner voice. I knew the film was not going to be a classical
biographic portrayal, and I knew in the beginning that I would not
show his personal life. It was always about his inner journey and his
thoughts.
What is so effective for me in the film is how you have chosen some of
the most touching and compassionate segments from Saroyan's writing.
Of course, there is so much sorrow underneath, but there is something
very embracing in the film that overrides anger and rage.
Of course this has to do with Saroyan's literature. I did not want to
create a kind of hero for the audience. I think this would have been
the last thing that Saroyan would want, anyway. That was not the way
he lived. The second thing is, actually Saroyan was an angry person.
What I mean is that he did not repress his anger; he was able to carry
this anger and confront it. So with all his contradictions, he was a
full-fledged human being. He was a `naked' man who accepted himself
for who he was. That's where his realism comes from. He is a man who
made choices and life is not made of pink dust and, yes, today we must
talk about fraternity and peace; however, Saroyan owned up to his past
without looking down. He did not get lost in the past, but he was also
able to carry the past on his shoulders. He is a person at peace with
himself. And he is a man who disapproved of all injustices and
massacres in the world. That is the kind of person I am as well;
otherwise, I couldn't have made this film.
http://www.todayszaman.com//news-333530-lusin-dink-film-portrays-saroyan-as-a-human-being-not-a-hero.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress