Written and Directed by: Zeki Demirkubuz
Edited by: Nevzat Disiacik
Cinematography: Ali Utku
Art Direction: Tulin Cetinkol
Sound-Mix: Erkan Aktas
Cast: Ruhi Sari, Basak Koklukaya, Cengiz Sezici, Serdar Orcin, Emrah Elciboga, Naci Tandoven
Production: Mavi Film
Produced by: Zeki Demirkubuz
Production Date: 1999, Turkey
35 mm / Color / 92 minutes / Aspect Ratio: 1.66
Number of Reels: 5
Footage: 2650 m
Sound: Ultra Stereo
Distribution:
World Sales: Mavi Film (Turkey)
Festivals and Special Screenings:
Sanart Film (Europe)
info@sanartfilm.com
Moon and Stars Project (U.S.A.)
kaan@moonandstarsproject.org
Isa, a walk-on in movie productions, is blamed for a fifty-dollar robbery in a mafia-rooted environment. As a result, he is badly beaten and given twenty-four hours to return the money. Instead of finding the money, Isa finds a gun. He decides to commit suicide. Just when he is about to pull the trigger, the doorbell rings…
Director’s Statement
How far can we understand a person by looking at his/her role in the social structure?
Would trying to grasp reality through sociological analyses, images, adjectives, class categorizations, media and “experts on life” take us far? And what role would our character, which we try so hard to understand by naming everything that we have lived, as well as everything which left a mark on our souls as good, evil, weak and strong, play in that reality?
I, of course, wrote this story from the starting point of my own knowledge and feelings. And I tried to shoot it by adding meaning to these. But if I consider the questions I have just asked, I must confess that the effort that took a couple of years of my life is just a stunted copy of what I don’t know, and an attempt to smell the cesspool that we call life.
Festivals and Awards
2000 International Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey): Best Director, Best Actress (Basak Koklukaya), FIPRESCI Award: Best Film in National Competition
2000 International Film Festival of Tbilisi (Georgia): Best Script
2000 Orhan Murat Ariburnu Awards: Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor (Ruhi Sari), Best Actress (Basak Koklukaya)
2000 Rotterdam International Film Festival (The Netherlands)
2000 Gothenburg International Film Festival (Sweden)
1999 Locarno International Film Festival - Official Competition (Switzerland)
1999 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (Turkey): Best 3rd Film, Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Basak Koklukaya)
1999 Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Awards (Turkey): Best Script, Best Actor (Ruhi Sari)
1999 Contemporary Screen Actors Association (CASOD) Acting Awards (Turkey): Best Actor (Ruhi Sari)
1999 Sadri Alisik Awards (Turkey): Best Actor (Ruhi Su), Best Actress (Basak Koklukaya)
1999 Films from the South (Norway)
1999 Thessalonica International Film Festival (Greece)
1999 Brussels International Film Festival (Belgium)
1999 Innsbruck International Film Festival (Austria)
Press
The Third Page. Mental Minefields: The Dark Tales of Zeki Demirkubuz. 2007. Review.
The Third Page. Five Films by Zeki Demirkubuz. 2003. Review.
