Istanbul rules in coming seasons’ films
The Turkish film industry has been working tirelessly between the months of May through to September.
Despite the heat of summer and the hardships of Ramadan, filming is being going on in hotel rooms, on the streets and in the studios. In this new season for which about 60 new films have been prepared at a galloping pace, we know through bitter experience that only five or six films will please their producers while the remainder will be lost in theaters. Despite this bitter reality, the sector seems to have kept up the pace in recent years.
The most noteworthy aspect of the coming season’s films is the boom about İstanbul itself. Of course, there is nothing surprising about İstanbul being used as a setting for Turkish cinema. This has often been the case ever since the first Turkish film. Having been referred to in the title of a local movie in 2006, İstanbul has continued to assert its dominance over our cinema. Of course, the influence of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECOC) Agency in this should also be acknowledged. Excluding the Indian movie “Mission Istanbul,” İstanbul has not appeared on movie posters since “Sevgilim İstanbul” directed by Seçkin Yaşar, although it has often had lots of exposure in the film frames. This time İstanbul will be the star in movie theaters not only with its scenery and locations but also with its name, its past and its present.
Here are the new season’s İstanbul films:
İstanbul Beni Unutma: Six young directors led by Hüseyin Karabey came together to shoot 15-minute short films that will make up this anthology, which is among the projects funded by the ECOC. The film opens with Aida Begic, the Bosnian director who made a remarkable debut with “Snow,” followed by Stefan Arsenijevic (Serbia), Stergios Niziris (Greece), Omar Shargawi (Denmark), Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine) and Eric Nazarian (USA), who will come to İstanbul to shoot their own stories about İstanbul. The film is reminiscent of the successful experiment “Anlat İstanbul,” for which five directors came together in 2004, as well as “Paris je t’aime” and “New York I Love You,” and is already attracting attention for these directors who have won acclaim with their earlier works.
Istanbul My Dream: It is yet another foreign look at İstanbul. Directed by Hungarian director Ferenc Török, this film brings two sorrowful characters together in İstanbul. Joanna Ter Steege, mostly known for her work with Hungarian director István Szabó,’ co-stars with Yavuz Bingöl. The producer of the film is Serkan Acar, who also produced “Sonbahar.” In “Istanbul My Dream,” İstanbul sets the scene for this story between a Hungarian woman and a local construction worker in their struggle to hold on to each other.
Fetih 1453: The concept that the conquest of İstanbul would make a great film -- which is frequently voiced by those who are most distant to cinema -- is finally making an inroad at movie theaters. Of course, its too early to tell how director Faruk Aksoy will emerge from this formidable project, however, Aksoy has raised audience expectations by saying, “I will not give anyone an excuse to scorn the film.” It is expected to make its debut in December.
Sultanın Sırrı: This film has already brought several Hollywood stars including Mark Dacascos and Emanuel Bettencourt to our country, and looks at İstanbul through the eyes of Dan Brown. The film directed Hakan Şahin and screen written by Ömer Erbil, elaborates on the legend that there are sacred relics belonging to Jesus hidden in a room beneath Çemberlitaş.
Saç: Following his debut at the Locarno Film Festival with “Pus” (Haze), Turkish film maker Tayfun Pirselimoğlu now tells the story of Hamdi, who makes his living with “hair” in Tarlabaşı. Rıza Akın and Nazan Kesal star in the film.
Vay Arkadaş-Manik, Tik, Dildo: This film is poised to dispel Pirselimoğlu’s misty atmosphere and is attention-grabbing with its strange title. In this action comedy, featuring Demet Evgar, Mete Horozoğlu, Fırat Tanış and Ali Atay, director Kemal Uzun takes the audience on a journey into the suburbs of İstanbul.
40: In this debut film, which has been awaiting cinema release since the last year’s Golden Orange Film Festival, Emre Şahin focuses on the experiences of immigrants in İstanbul. Audiences will have to make up their own mind as to whether it is İstanbul or the immigrants that set the background for this film.
Kösem Sultan:
For some, Kösem Sultan was the paragon of ambition who established the institution of bribery in Turkey. For others she was an intelligent mother who took control of the Ottoman state when it had been left in the hands of her young children after her husband died. The life of Kösem Sultan, who is always a subject of debate, is being made into a movie. The film, titled “Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan,” written by Avni Özgürel and produced by Ayfer Özgürel, began filming at İstanbul’s Topkapı Palace in February. The film promises to provide a realistic portrait of Sultan Kösem that is different from anything that has been said about her before now. While indoor scenes are being shot near Gebze, outdoor scenes are being filmed at Topkapı Palace, Yedikule Zindanlari (Seven Tower Dungeons), the Haseki complex and Hünkar Kasrı. Damla Sönmez will play the young Kösem Sultan, while Selda Alkor will play Kösem Sultan at the age of 60. Gökhan Mumcu will star as Sultan Ahmet I, and the film will also feature Bonnie Ramirez, Mansur Ark, Suavi Eren, Selda Özer and Ayten Soykök.