Film | Hayat (2023) by Zeki Demirkubuz

Demirkubuz Quotes

...pain was the one thing that united us. Pain is everywhere, we must all face it. All my films are about it.

Sometimes I think that if it wasn't for jail, I would not be a film-maker.

Politics is what it is, but for me loneliness is best. Every artist needs to be a stranger in a way. It is very important for me to be alone, either for my thoughts or my writing. Silence is often more powerful than words ...

Mavi Boncuk |

"For the first time in my life, a film of mine is being shown in so many theaters and in many cities, including my hometown Isparta. Ağrı, Batman, Yozgat, Ordu, Adana... I am happy, but people get nervous and feel embarrassed..."

REVIEW (Turkish)

"...In the movie "Hayat", Demirkubuz perhaps works with so many successful actors for the first time. Miray Daner, who is only 24 years old with Hicran and whose acquaintance with the sets started when she was a child, Burak Dakak with Rıza, Melis Birkan as Hicran's mother, Umut Kurt and Doğu Demirkol as her father Mehmet, showed good acting. However, apart from these, two people in particular have portrayed their roles so well that we can only take our hats off to them. Cem Davran; He is very successful in presenting a character who is dilemmatic, constantly in search of love, suspicious, obsessed with the cycle of life and lacking in willpower. The other one is experienced actor Osman Alkaş as the compassionate grandfather. The crying scene near the finale, where Miray Daner felt like she was suffocating like regret, was also very impressive..."

Hayat|Life 

2023 3h 13m 

TRT, Klas Film, Mavi Film

Directed Produced, Written and Edited by: Zeki Demirkubuz

Cast: Osman Alkas, Kayhan Açikgöz, Berfun Besel, Melis Birkan, Caner Cindoruk

Cinematography by: Cevahir Sahin, Kürsat Üresin

Art Direction by :Sinem San

Hicran, a young woman, finds the solution in running away when she is forced to get engaged by her father. 

Mehmet goes to explain this situation to his daughter’s fiancee Rıza and his family. Rıza, thinking that Hicran does not want to marry him anyway, does not care about this situation at first.

However, as time goes by, Hicran starts to feel uncomfortable about not being wanted and decides to confront her. Rıza goes to Istanbul to find his fiancee, whom he has only seen once. 

(filmed in Sinop and Istanbul)

Demirkubuz dropped out of high school and started working in a textile workshop. He then worked as a street vendor for some time. After the 1980 coup d'état, he was imprisoned without trial for three years at the age of 17 for alleged communist activities and was tortured.

At the time, he was studying Communications Engineering at Istanbul University. Following his graduation, he became involved with movie making. After working as an assistant director, he established his own production company called "Mavi Film". Uncompromising and fiercely independent, Demirkubuz controls almost every aspect of his films, making few concessions to prevailing trends.

He started in the movie business as the assistant of director 'Zeki Okten' in 1986 and made his first film, "C Blok" in 1994. He was able to manage his projects with very low budgets due to the experience he gained while working as an assistant.

Some of his films are "Masumiyet" (1997), which was shown at Venice Film Festival and "Ücüncü Sayfa" (1999), also shown at many international film festivals like Locarno and Rotterdam. The films "Yazgi (2001) and "Itiraf" (2001) included in his "Mental Minefields: The Dark Tales" trilogy [written by Zeki Demirkubuz] were shown at Cannes Film Festival's "Uncompetitive section". He made "Bekleme Odasi" in 2003.

Demirkubuz refers to Dostoevsky in his cinematographic mentality. His scenarios grow on the ethical dilemmas of the human condition. He usually uses basic concepts such as love, passion, self-sacrifice, and the absurdity of life and death.

Zeki Demirkubuz's "Kader" won "The Best Film" prize at 2006 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. - IMDb Mini Biography By: yusufpiskin

Filmography

1994 C Blok ("Block C")
1997 Masumiyet ("Innocence")
1999 Üçüncü Sayfa ("The Third Page")
2001 Yazgı ("Fate")
2001 İtiraf ("The Confession")
2003 Bekleme Odası ("The Waiting Room")
2006 Kader ("Destiny")
2009 Kıskanmak ("Envy")
2012 Yeraltı ("Underground")
2015 Bulantı ("Nausea")
2016 Kor ("Ember")

REVIEW

"Master director Zeki Demirkubuz, who returned to movie theaters 7 years after the movie Kor, which did not receive very positive feedback, appears before the audience with the movie Hayat. Hayat, which has kinship ties with Destiny and Innocence and is fed by the same references, focuses on the story of Hicran, who is forced to marry someone she does not want, as a result of social pressure and the wishes of her family...Demirkubuz said that he had planned this story much earlier, but other projects intervened. It is obvious that it has a similar main character to Destiny and Confession. Later, the trilogy also changed direction and The Waiting Room was included. When viewed this way, it is easier to legitimize the traces of early cinema. Just like the lives of the characters in those films, despite all the rebellions, Hicran's life reaches its finale in a way that is made ordinary and condemned to its fate. Even if Demirkubuz is not as pessimistic as he used to be, the place the society and the country have reached is much more pessimistic. This turns into a shackle that affects all of our lives. Unfortunately, this is also the case for Hicran, and the story can break away from pessimism to some extent. Demirkubuz summarizes this situation in an interview as follows; "Life softens people, I agree that Life is not as dark as in my old films. I think this is a good thing, you get bored when you repeat yourself as the same man all the time. As long as there is no apostasy, as long as there is no denial, you have to believe in the change in your life, you have to respond to it a little. I think that's like mine." is happening."

Despite its negative aspects, Hayat is Demirkubuz's best film since Underground. A comeback. It is proof of how comfortable and successful a director who returns to his roots is in the waters he knows."

Onur Kırşavoğlu @biletinial'da Genel Yayın Yönetmeni.

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