Turkish cinema has another no show at another major festival. There is only one film The Gulf by Emre Yeksan[1] is in an alternate side bar.
The line-up for the 2017 edition of the Venice Film Festival’s independent parallel strand Critics’ Week (Aug 30 – Sept 9) including "The Gulf" by Emre Yeksan has been revealed.
Organised by the National Union of Italian Film Critics, the selection is curated by the general delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week Giona A. Nazzaro with the selection committee comprised of Luigi Abiusi, Alberto Anile, Beatrice Fiorentino and Massimo Tria. All Venice Critics’ Week entries will compete alongside titles in the official selection for the fest’s Lion of the Future prize, worth $100,000. As usual, Critics’ Week films will be voted on by festival-goers rather than a jury.
Mavi Boncuk |
Emre Yeksan, who has already worked as a producer, directed a short film called Aziz (2014) and formed part of the directing team for the short documentary Welcome Lenin! (2016), has spent almost four years sculpting and bringing to life the idea behind his debut feature film, entitled The Gulf. After appearing at multiple acclaimed development workshops and co-production markets — Meetings on the Bridge, CineLink, Ekran+, Les Arcs— the project is now almost complete and is currently in post-production.
The screenplay, written by the director and Ahmet Büke, revolves around an apathetic man, 32-year-old Selim (Ulaş Tuna Astepe), who returns to his home town Izmir at a moment when his personal life and professional career are in ruins. Selim, who doesn’t want to plan his future, decides to reconnect with his past friends, his family and the energy that his old town offers him. However, this new adventure takes an unexpected turn when an unbearable smell spreads over the city.
Regarding the idea behind the story of The Gulf, Yeksan explains that he tried to capture the increasing sense that we are living on the edge of a manmade disaster or another world war. While some of us still have the strength to stand against this catastrophe and overcome the fear, there are moments when we may feel perplexed and immobilised, and this is the case with the main protagonist.
The €500,000 project was shot last summer in Izmir, which also happens to be Yeksan’s home town. The Gulf is also the first feature film produced by Anna Maria Aslanoğlu of Istanbul-based Istos Film, which, in recent years, has been an active participant in the short films’ sections of major film festivals and is currently developing three new feature films (Idle Moments by Cem Öztüfekçi, Zuhal by Nazli E. Durlu and Ela and Hilmi by Ziya Demirel). According to the producer’s notes, the film is expected to be completed this summer.
The Gulf is a Turkish-German-Greek co-production by Anna Maria Aslanoğlu (Istos Film), Asli Filiz (Bir Film), Dirk Engelhardt (Kundschafter Filmproduktion) and Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films). The film is supported by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund, the Greek Film Centre and Swiss fund Visions Sud Est.
CREDITS
Directed by
Emre Yeksan
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Ahmet Büke
Emre Yeksan
Produced by
Anna Maria Aslanoglu .... producer
Maria Drandaki .... co-producer
Dirk G. Engelhardt .... co-producer
C. Asli Filiz .... co-producer
Ozan Sapaz .... assistant producer
Original Music by
Ekin Uzeltuzenci (as Ekin Fil)
Cinematography by
Jakub Giza
Film Editing by
Selda Taskin
Casting by
Kutay Sandikçi
Art Direction by
Serdar Yilmaz
Costume Design by
Ayse Yildiz
Makeup Department
Esma Keskin .... makeup artist
CAST
Ulas Tuna Astepe ... Selim
Müfit Kayacan ... Bülent
Merve Dizdar ... Pinar
Serpil Gül ... Nihal
Cem Zeynel Kiliç ... Necati
Ahmet Melih Yilmaz ... Cihan
Damla Ardal ... Meral
OFFICIAL SITE
[1] Emre Yeksan (b. 1981, İzmir, Turkey)
Emre Yeksan Obtained a BA and MA in Film Studies from Mimar Sinan University and Paris Sorbonne University respectively. He spent a while working working as a freelance producer in Paris. Since then, he has produced films with directors such as Semih Kaplanoglu, Kamen Kalev and Huseyin Karabey. He also directed a short film titled Aziz. The Gulf, co-written with Ahmet Buke, will be his first feature as a director.
Movies: Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (producer), Come to My Voice (producer), The Gulf
No comments:
Post a Comment