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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 3 2014
Turkish cinema, now a regular in Venice Film Festival
Emrah Güler
Turkish cinema has become a regular fixture at the Venice
International Film Festival since 2008, following a nearly decade-long
stupor. This year, acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akýn will
compete for the Golden Lion with 'The Cut,' while newcomer Kaan
Müjdeci's 'Sivas' is in the lineup for the Future of the Lion award.
Here's a look at Turkey in Venice throughout the years
Kaan Müjdeci's debut feature "Sivas" will compete for the Lion of the
Future given to the first feature of young directors.
Back in 1990, director Yusuf Kurçenli's "Karartma Geceleri" (The
Blackout Nights) competed for the Golden Lion in the world's oldest
film festival, the Venice International Film Festival. Three other
films were selected to the Golden Lion line-up before that, all in the
1980s, Erden Kýral's "Ayna" (The Mirror), Ali Özgentürk's "Bekçi" (The
Guard) and the late Ömer Kavur's "Anayurt Oteli" (Motherland Hotel).
Then the winter sleep came when Turkey was nowhere to be seen in
Venice for almost two decades, save for two directors, Yeþim Ustaoðlu
(in 2002) and Ferzan Özpetek (in 2007), being invited to the jury.
2008 turned out to be the year when Turkish cinema's luck turned
around, with two films included into the lineup for the main
competition.
An adaptation of Melania G. Mazzucca's best-selling Italian novel "Un
Giorno perfetto" by Turkish/Italian director Ferzan Özpetek, the
previous year's jury member, as well as director Semih Kaplanoðlu's
"Süt" (Milk), the second film in Yusuf's Trilogy, were both listed in
the line-up competing for the Golden Lion. "Un Giorno perfetto," the
story of the 24 hours in a family right before a general election,
brought Isabella Ferrari the best actress award.
Two years later, in 2010, newcomer Seren Yüce's "Çoðunluk" (Majority),
with its accurate portrayal of Turkey's urban middle-class
sensibilities, won the Lion of the Future award. Then came another
Lion of the Future two years later for director Ali Aydýn's "Küf"
(Mold), the heart-breaking story of a father's quest to find his son
who had been missing for 18 years. That film was screened during the
International Film Critics' Week.
The same year, in 2012, another jury alum, internationally acclaimed
female director Ustaoðlu's "Araf" (Somewhere in Between) was included
into the Orrizonti (Horizons) section of the festival. The film was a
coming-of-age story, featuring small lives and big dreams through a
love triangle. In a lesser known success story for Turkish filmmakers
that year, the directorial debut of the Palestinian actress Hiam
Abbass' "Inheritance," screened in the Venice Days section, had two
Turkish names, Faruk Özerten and Ender Sevim, among its production
credits.
'The Cut' and 'Sivas'
There seems to be a two-year rule where Turkish cinema shines in
Venice. This year seems to be no exception with two films premiering
and competing in the upcoming 71st Venice Film Festival, set to open
on Aug. 27. While acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akýn's "The
Cut" will compete for the Golden Lion, Kaan Müjdeci's debut feature
"Sivas" will compete for the Lion of the Future, or Luigi De
Laurentiis award, given to the first feature of young directors.
"The Cut" (pictured left) became the talk of the festival circuit when
he pulled his film from the Cannes lineup in April for "personal
reasons." The film, starring French actor Tahar Rahim, centers around
the sensitive issue of the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottomans in 1915, and is the final film in the "Love, Death and the
Devil trilogy," which includes award winners "Head-On" and "The Edge
of Heaven."
Akýn recently made headlines when he said in an interview with
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos that he had walked away from a project on
Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007.
"I couldn't persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant's role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That's why I had to cancel the
project," Akýn said.
"The Cut" will compete against such films like Abel Ferrara's biopic
of the fallen Italian filmmaker "Pasolini," Ramin Bahrani's recession
drama "99 Homes," David Gordon Green's Texan drama "Manglehorn," and
"The Look of Silence," Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up to his acclaimed
2012 documentary "The Act of Killing."
Müjdeci's feature "Sivas" tells the friendship between an 11-year-old
boy and his dog in the steppes of Central Anatolia. Keep in mind that
the boy's name is Aslan, which in Turkish means lion. The Future of
the Lion award will have a whole new meaning if "Sivas" wins the award
come September.
August/04/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-cinema-now-a-regular-in-venice-film-festival.aspx?PageID=238&NID=69904&NewsCatID=381
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Aug 3 2014
Turkish cinema, now a regular in Venice Film Festival
Emrah Güler
Turkish cinema has become a regular fixture at the Venice
International Film Festival since 2008, following a nearly decade-long
stupor. This year, acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akýn will
compete for the Golden Lion with 'The Cut,' while newcomer Kaan
Müjdeci's 'Sivas' is in the lineup for the Future of the Lion award.
Here's a look at Turkey in Venice throughout the years
Kaan Müjdeci's debut feature "Sivas" will compete for the Lion of the
Future given to the first feature of young directors.
Back in 1990, director Yusuf Kurçenli's "Karartma Geceleri" (The
Blackout Nights) competed for the Golden Lion in the world's oldest
film festival, the Venice International Film Festival. Three other
films were selected to the Golden Lion line-up before that, all in the
1980s, Erden Kýral's "Ayna" (The Mirror), Ali Özgentürk's "Bekçi" (The
Guard) and the late Ömer Kavur's "Anayurt Oteli" (Motherland Hotel).
Then the winter sleep came when Turkey was nowhere to be seen in
Venice for almost two decades, save for two directors, Yeþim Ustaoðlu
(in 2002) and Ferzan Özpetek (in 2007), being invited to the jury.
2008 turned out to be the year when Turkish cinema's luck turned
around, with two films included into the lineup for the main
competition.
An adaptation of Melania G. Mazzucca's best-selling Italian novel "Un
Giorno perfetto" by Turkish/Italian director Ferzan Özpetek, the
previous year's jury member, as well as director Semih Kaplanoðlu's
"Süt" (Milk), the second film in Yusuf's Trilogy, were both listed in
the line-up competing for the Golden Lion. "Un Giorno perfetto," the
story of the 24 hours in a family right before a general election,
brought Isabella Ferrari the best actress award.
Two years later, in 2010, newcomer Seren Yüce's "Çoðunluk" (Majority),
with its accurate portrayal of Turkey's urban middle-class
sensibilities, won the Lion of the Future award. Then came another
Lion of the Future two years later for director Ali Aydýn's "Küf"
(Mold), the heart-breaking story of a father's quest to find his son
who had been missing for 18 years. That film was screened during the
International Film Critics' Week.
The same year, in 2012, another jury alum, internationally acclaimed
female director Ustaoðlu's "Araf" (Somewhere in Between) was included
into the Orrizonti (Horizons) section of the festival. The film was a
coming-of-age story, featuring small lives and big dreams through a
love triangle. In a lesser known success story for Turkish filmmakers
that year, the directorial debut of the Palestinian actress Hiam
Abbass' "Inheritance," screened in the Venice Days section, had two
Turkish names, Faruk Özerten and Ender Sevim, among its production
credits.
'The Cut' and 'Sivas'
There seems to be a two-year rule where Turkish cinema shines in
Venice. This year seems to be no exception with two films premiering
and competing in the upcoming 71st Venice Film Festival, set to open
on Aug. 27. While acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akýn's "The
Cut" will compete for the Golden Lion, Kaan Müjdeci's debut feature
"Sivas" will compete for the Lion of the Future, or Luigi De
Laurentiis award, given to the first feature of young directors.
"The Cut" (pictured left) became the talk of the festival circuit when
he pulled his film from the Cannes lineup in April for "personal
reasons." The film, starring French actor Tahar Rahim, centers around
the sensitive issue of the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottomans in 1915, and is the final film in the "Love, Death and the
Devil trilogy," which includes award winners "Head-On" and "The Edge
of Heaven."
Akýn recently made headlines when he said in an interview with
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos that he had walked away from a project on
Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007.
"I couldn't persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant's role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That's why I had to cancel the
project," Akýn said.
"The Cut" will compete against such films like Abel Ferrara's biopic
of the fallen Italian filmmaker "Pasolini," Ramin Bahrani's recession
drama "99 Homes," David Gordon Green's Texan drama "Manglehorn," and
"The Look of Silence," Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up to his acclaimed
2012 documentary "The Act of Killing."
Müjdeci's feature "Sivas" tells the friendship between an 11-year-old
boy and his dog in the steppes of Central Anatolia. Keep in mind that
the boy's name is Aslan, which in Turkish means lion. The Future of
the Lion award will have a whole new meaning if "Sivas" wins the award
come September.
August/04/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-cinema-now-a-regular-in-venice-film-festival.aspx?PageID=238&NID=69904&NewsCatID=381
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress