Nisimazine Istanbul 2015 4th Edition by NISI MASA

Nisimazine

16 Nisan 2015 Perşembe

Istanbul Film Festival 2015

16th April 2015

sayı 4 edition 4

Bu dergi, NISI MASA tarafından ‘Genç Avrupalılara yönelik Sinema Yazarlığı Atölyesi’ çerçevesinde yayımlanmıştır a festival gazette published in the framework of a workshop for young critics by NISI MASA - European network of young cinema

Marshland

sayfa 5

Lucía Ros Serra (Spain)

W Yeni Kız Arkadaşım

Matthew Turner (Birleşik Krallık)

sayfa 3

These Are the Rules Vicky Griva (Greece)

sayfa 3

Ders

Nabat

ristina Grozeva ve Petar Valchanov’un kaleme alıp yönettiği düşük bütçeli basit bir film olan Ders’in başrolünde Murphy Kanunları var. Film, Bulgaristan’ın kırsal bölgelerindeki mali iniş çıkışları ve halkın evlerinde sokaklardan uzakta güvenle yaşamak için gösterdiği günlük çabayı anlatıyor.

Gerçekten de her şey kötü GİDEBİLİR, GİDECEKTİR DE. Zaten trajedinin aksiyomu da bu. Bir başladı mı devam edecekmiş gibi görünür. Ders’te de Bulgaristan’da yavaş yavaş, sinsice ve az önce bahsi geçen nüktedanlığın basitçe üstesinden gelen olaylar meydana geliyor. Film başta ve sonda sınıfa odaklanarak sınıftaki cüzdan hırsızını yakalamaya çalışan İngilizce öğretmeni Nade’nin hikayesini anlatıyor. Nade, kendini hırsızı bulmaya ve ona bir ders vermeye adıyor; çünkü bu küçük suçun çocuğun yetişkinlik hayatında daha vahim sonuçları olabileceğinden korkuyor.

Sovyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasından hemen önce, 1991 yılında Azerbaycan’ın batı dağlarında küçük bir köydeyiz. Köyün tüm sakinleri ya yerinden edilmiş ya da ölmüş. İranlı oyuncu Fatemeh Mohamed-Arya yatalak kocası İskender’in (Vidadi Aliyev canlandırıyor) yanında kalmaya karar veren Nabat’ı canlandırıyor. Bombardıman devam ederken sürekli tehlike ve korku içinde yaşıyorlar; ama yine de köyden ayrılmak istemiyorlar. İskender öldüğünde Nabat yalnız kalıyor ve kurbanların anılarını hayatta tutmaya çalışıyor. Öldürülen oğlunu hatırlayabilmek için oğlunun fotoğrafını arayışa başlıyor ve köyde amaçsız amaçsız dolaşıyor.

Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov (Bulgarİstan, Yunanİstan)

Editorial

Editörden

Since we arrived, things keep changing, making this special edition of Nisimazine one of the most active and vibrant of them all.

Geldiğimizden beri her şey değişmeye, Nisimazine’in bu özel baskısını diğer hepsinden daha aktif ve coşkulu hale getirmeye devam ediyor.

After the cancellation of North and Monday’s Press Conference it was clear that we were in for more than cinema.

Bakur/Kuzey’in gösteriminin iptal edilmesinin ve pazartesi günkü basın toplantısının ardından, sinemadan daha fazlası için burada bulunduğumuz artık çok açıktı.

To recap, in a demonstration that film is not only a visual art but also one of the most powerful ways for representation and democracy, as well as an inherent collective art; several Turkish filmmakers decided to pull out their films from the Festival. The screenings were replaced with discussions and all the competitions were cancelled. However, this was far from being the end of this story. Since yesterday, several of the above mentioned directors decided to put their films back in the game, at least for members of the press. And if yesterday’s question was: who will watch these local productions now that they were never the central focus of Turkey’s most significant showcase? Now, what do we show, is no longer the issue here. Solidarity has been expressed in several ways now, but the recent wavering process arises more questions than answers: does making screenings only available for the press gives them a privileged position? Maybe a special access to knowledge? Or on the contrary it actually gives the films a better diffusion? Furthermore, if the Festival has been conceived as a major platform for promoting culture, does the filmmakers decision of restraining the popular access to films challenges the whole purpose? If there is no Art without an audience is there Art with just a limited one? Finally, why are these films back? Luisa Riviere (Colombia)

Özetlemek gerekirse, sinemanın yalnızca bir görsel sanat olmadığı, bundan da öte, temsil ve demokrasinin en güçlü yollarından biri olduğunu, aynı zamanda kendiliğinden kolektif bir sanat olduğunu göstermek için Türkiyeli sinemacılar filmlerini festivalden çekme kararı aldılar. Gösterimlerin yerini tartışmalar aldı ve tüm yarışmalar iptal edildi. Ne var ki, hikaye burada bitmiyor. Dünden bu yana, yukarıda bahsi geçen yönetmenlerden bir kısmı yalnızca basın için olsa bile gösterimlerini tekrar gerçekleştirme kararı aldılar. Dünün sorusu, eğer bu yerel yapımlar Türkiye’nin en önemli vitrininde odak noktasında olamayacaksa bu filmleri kim seyredecekti. Bugün ise neyi gösterdiğimiz asıl mesele olmaktan çıktı. Dayanışma birçok farklı şekilde gösterilebilir. Fakat son dönemdeki tereddütlü süreç cevap vermekten çok, daha fazla soru ortaya atıyor: gösterimleri yalnızca basına açık yapmak, basına ayrıcalıklı bir konum mu veriyor? Bilgiye özel bir erişim mi sağlıyor? Ya da tam aksine filme başka türlü bir yayılma imkanı mı sağlıyor? Dahası, eğer Festival kültürü desteklemenin önemli araçlarından biri olarak görülüyorsa, sinemacıların filmlerine popüler erişimin kısıtlanması, festivalin amacının önüne geçmiyor mu? Seyircisiz Sanat olmuyorsa, sınırlı seyirciyle Sanat olur mu? Son olarak, bu filmler neden tekrar gösterime sokuldu? Luisa Riviere (Colombia)

Nade dürüst ve ilkeli biri; hafif OKB’siyle derin kökleri olan ahlaki ve etik bir pusulayı izliyor. Ayrıca hem kendisi hem de sarhoş, işe yaramaz kocası ve kızları için zor bir zamandan geçiyorlar. Yaptığı çevirilerden yüksek miktarda alacağı olsa da otobüs biletine bile zor parası yetiyor ve bir gün eve geldiğinde kocasının banka borcunu ödemesi gereken parayı uzun süredir satmayı beceremediği karavanı tamir ettirmek için kullandığını fark ediyor. Üç gün içinde borçlarını ödemesi gerekiyor; yoksa ailesinin sahip olduğu her şeyin açık artırmaya çıkarılacağını öğreniyor. Böylece Nade sağduyusunu bir kenara bırakarak borcunu ödeyebilmek ve bu süreçte hayatını düzene sokmayı umarak bazı karanlık adamlarla iş yapıyor. Ders ilginç bir yerde geçen güçlü ve odaklı fakat fazlasıyla uzun oldukça yavaş bir hızda ilerleyen belgesel benzeri bir üslupla çekilmiş bir film. Filmin en güçlü özelliği, yazarların bir pelerine ya da doğaüstü unsurlara ihtiyaç duymadan anlatmak istediğini anlatan güçlü bir kadın karakter yaratabilmiş olmaları. Nade, rollerin alt üst olduğu bir ailede aile reisi olarak görev alıyor. Filmde bazen güvenemeyeceğinizi bilseniz de aile her zaman öncelikli. Dahası, yazarlar sorumluluk, ahlak, ilke ve etik kavramlarını ortaya atıyor; Nade’in de kendini sorgulamasını sağlıyor. Bir noktada Nade, babasından para istemek ve babasının kız arkadaşından özür dilemek yerine borcunu ödemek için fahişelik yapmayı bile düşünüyor. En nihayetinde Ders, bir ders veriyor: Doğruyu söyle, dürüst ol ve hırsızlık yapma. Bununla birlikte, film Bulgaristan’a dair gerçekçi bir resim sunuyor. Özellikle de Nade’nin patronu ve onun davranışları günümüz Balkan toplumunu tam olarak yansıtıyor. Ders’i bir arada tutan Nade’yi soğukkanlı ve derli toplu bir şekilde canlandıran muhteşem Margita Gosheva. Filmin kalbi de ruhu da o; seyirciyi kendine çekiyor. Hiçbir zaman gözyaşlarına boğulmasa da ustaca titreyen bedeni, bu durumun karakter üzerinde yarattığı duygusal değişimleri yansıtmayı başarıyor. Yönetmenler, hikayeyi anlatmak için sabırlı davransa da görüntü yönetmeni hafif tonlarda çekilmiş geniş çekimleri tercih ediyor. Gerçekten de bu açıdan bakıldığında Ders filmlerin iyi görünmesi için çok para gerekmediğini hatırlatıyor. Nade’nin duygusal çöküşü müzik kullanımı olmamasıyla ve yalnızca doğal seslerin ve diyalogların kullanımıyla zirveye ulaşıyor. Sonuç olarak Ders ekonomik belirsizlik içinde yaşayan herkesi kolaylıkla etkileyebilecek bir gerçek yaşam hikayesini anlatan ve tekrarlayan ahlaki bir mesaj veren sakin ve derli toplu bir film. Gerçekten de sonuç olarak aldığımız ders, Nade’in netlik arayışının kendini keşfetmeye, anlamaya ve şefkate giden daha büyük bir yolculuğa dönüşmesi. Hepsinden öte, bu da bir ders... Tara Karajica (Sırbistan)

Elçin Musaoğlu (Azerbaycan)

ikaye anlatıcılığını minimumda tutan belgeselci Elçin Musaoğlu’nun ikinci uzun metraj filmi Nabat çok uzun çekimler, minimal diyaloglar ve tek kahramanıyla daha çok atmosferik bir drama olmuş. Film ara ara çok duygusal ve nostaljik olsa da gerçekten de olağanüstü görsel bir deneyim sunuyor.

Tahmin edebileceğiniz gibi olay örgüsüne yas hakim ve izlemesi hiç de kolay değil. Özellikle de flashback’ler, rüya sekansları, siyah-beyaz fotoğraflar, mumlar ve mezar taşları gibi klişelerle ifade edilmediğinde. Neyse ki, birkaç sahne sinematografik araç ve sembollerle yalnızlığı anlatmak için geleneksel olmayan, daha incelikli bir yol seçmiş ve bu seçim filmi kiç olmaktan kurtarıyor. Eksiklik ayrıca yükseltilmiş ses efektleriyle de ifade edilmiş: Rüzgarın, yağmur damlalarının ve diğer doğal seslerin alışılmadık derecede yüksek gürültüsü seyircinin insan sesinin eksikliğini fark etmesine sebep oluyor. Bunların aksine, kurtların uluması ve silah sesleri gerilim yaratıyor. Film, arkaplan ses efektleri açısından bir hayli zengin ve ekran dışı sesleri yaratıcı bir şekilde kullanıyor. Musaoğlu duyguları vurgulamak için çok sayıda dramatik unsuru kullanmış; fakat aşırı kullanımı sinema deneyimini bazı zamanlarda fazla tiyatral hale getiriyor. Bach’ın klasik eserlerinin bu hikaye için fazlasıyla derin olduğu düşünülebilir. Manzara da eşit derecede tiyatrovari. Geride bırakılan aile evi, hikayelerini anlatan kişisel eşyaları: çamaşır ipinde asılı çocuk kıyafetleri, açık bir kitap, masada unutulmuş çay fincanları, yıkıntıdan ve paramparça olmuş eşyalardan fazlası olmayan evler. Savaşı tasvir etmenin tipik yolu. Bu da Nabat’ı biraz geleneksel yapıyor. Neyse ki olağanüstü sinematografi, klişeleri telafi ediyor. Abdulrahim Besharat’ın profesyonel ve kompleks kamera kullanımında, hem yatay hem de dikey yönde hareket eden uzun vinç çekimleri baskın. Film boyunca kamera, terk edilmiş köyde seyirciye rehberlik eden Nabat’ı takip ediyor. Nabat’ın hareketleri ve kamera arasındaki ilginç, çoğunlukla dikey ilişkiyi gözlemleyebiliyorsunuz. Geniş çekimlerde sisli sonbahar manzarasında çevresiyle kurduğu uyumlu ilişkiyi görüyoruz. Mesela Nabat’ın siluetinin muhteşem sarı gökyüzünde görünür olduğu sahne gibi ters ışıkta çekilmiş harika çekimler var. Babak Shirinsefat’ın kurgusu filme özel bir ritim katıyor. Uzun çekimlerin olduğu sekanslar, hızlı çekimlerle çeşitleniyor ve bu çekimler Nabat’ın farklı duygu durumlarını yansıtıyor. Farklı filmler izliyormuşuz duygusu yaratacak şekilde üslup açısından tutarsızlık da yaratsa rahatsız edici olmayacak kadar ilgi çekici. Nabat sanatsal açıdan değişken standartları olan bir film. Sinematografik açıdan harika özellikleri olsa da daha ayrıntılı bir senaryo ve dramatik unsurların daha az kullanılması dengeyi korumaya yardımcı olabilirdi. Filmin zayıf noktası olay örgüsü. Hiçbir dönüm noktası ve karakter gelişimi olmadan hikaye anlatıyor. Hiçbir çatışma yok; dolayısıyla bekleyecek de hiçbir şey yok. Bunlara ek olarak film gereksiz uzatılmış. Filmin son anında olası bir karakter ortaya çıkıyor; fakat yeni bir hikaye yaratmak için artık çok geç. Lilla Puskás (Hungary)

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Röportaj/Interview

Elchin Musaoglu

CREDITS/ Künye NISIMAZINE ISTANBUL, 12-19 APRIL 2015 N°4, Edition of Thursday, 16th April 2015 Sayı 4, 16 Nisan 2015 Perşembe A magazine published by NISI MASA in the framework of a film journalism workshop for young Europeans. Bu dergi, NISI MASA tarafından ‘Genç Avrupalılara yönelik Sinema Yazarlığı Atölyesi’ çerçevesinde yayımlanmıştır.

director of Nabat (Azerbaijan) Nabat’s vision of a couple dealing with the obstacles in a war ravaged country has been on the tip of everybody’s lips since its premiere in Venice. We had a chance to sit face to face with the director to understand his motivations behind his touching and impressive latest film.

EDITORIAL STAFF / Editör Kadrosu Director Fernando Vasquez Turkish Editor Emrah Kolukisa Logistic Manager Luisa Riviere Writers/ Yazarlar Luisa Riviere, Tara Karajica, Lilla Puskás, Matthew Turner, Vicky Griva, Lucía Ros Serra, Maarja Hindoalla, Lynn Klein Translator/ Çevirmen Sinem Şekercan Photographers LucÍa Ros Serra, Martin Monk Layout/ Tasarımcı Francesca Merlo Special Thanks to Azize Tan, Elif Obdan, Zeynep Syhun, Sezer Kari

Until now, you've made 30 documentaries. How did your experience in documentary filmmaking help you in your transition to fiction? Documentary filmmaking taught me to be disciplined. Sometimes I feel like a soldier who is always ready to do what he has to. My experiences helped me the most when I was working on the characters and the dialogues. I told to my friend, Abdulrahim Besharat, who is the director of photography that I would like to create harmony between nature and Nabat’s characters. For that, long shots are the most suitable. Six years ago, we already worked together on my first feature film, The 40th Door, and we knew exactly how to work together.

NISI MASA European Network of Young Cinema 99 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis 75010, Paris, France +33 (0)1 48 01 65 31 europe@nisimasa.com www.nisimasa.com www.nisimazine.org With the support of the Youth in Action of the European Union. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

How did you come up with the story of Nabat?

Avrupa Birliği Eğitim ve Gençlik Projeleri desteğiyle. Bu proje Avrupa Komisyonu desteğiyle finanse edilmiştir. Bu yayın sadece yazarın görüşlerini yansıtır ve Komisyon burada yer alan bilgilerin herhangi bir şekilde kullanımından sorumlu tutulamaz.

I saw a documentary on TV about a village where everyone left during the Soviet war in 1991, except one woman. She wanted to stay where her family was buried. I found this story very touching and I started to work it out as a script. I feel very lucky that I found Fatemeh MohamedArya (actress of the film), because she felt Nabat’s character close to herself from the beginning. How did you find her? It was a very hard and long process. First I was looking for actresses in Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan but I didn’t find the perfect one. At some point someone suggested me an Iranian actress, Fatemeh. First I saw some of her photos and I got worried that maybe she’s too young for this role. But then I got known that in Gilane, one of her previous movies, she played an 80 years old woman. I watched the movie and it convinced me to travel to Iran to meet her personally, which turned out to be a good decision. Where did you build the set for the shooting? We shot the film near Garabau, in the mountains, in a beautiful and primitive village where people live very simply and calm. We built Nabat’s house as the part of the set, and after the shooting, the mayor wanted it to stay there. Now it’s used as a residence house for scriptwriters. The rest of the buildings appear in the movie are the houses of the locals. How did you get through the difficulties of shooting in such a specific location? We had many difficulties, but the locals helped us a lot. They were not only our generous hosts, but some of them also

assisted us during the shooting. They live very isolated, therefore they were happy that we made their village alive again. We also felt just like their family members. And besides, we were also surrounded by miracles. I really mean it! Just let me tell you an example. In the area, where we shot, it usually snows a lot in November. We prayed every day that the snow wouldn’t come, because it would have ruined the whole shooting. As long as we worked there we had sunny bright days, it didn’t snow, not even once. But then, on the very day we finished the shooting and left the village, the snow arrived. I don’t think it’s only because we had the weather on our side. I believe it was a real miracle! Lilla Puskás (Hungary)

Yorumlar/Reviews

Yeni Kız Arkadaşım François Ozon (Fransa)

Fransa’da tam da cinselliğin kamusal tartışmaların göbeğinde yer aldığı bir zamanda, François Ozon, çok daha yetişkin içerikli temsillerin ihtiyaç duyulduğu bir konuya zamanında el atma potansiyeline sahİpmiŞ aslında. Ama toplumsal cinsiyet rollerini alt üst eden tuhaf komedi Yeni Kız Arkadaşım’la üretken ve provokatif Fransız yönetmen meseleyi tamamıyla önemsizleştirerek hatalı bir vuruş yapıyor. Cesur bir açılış yapan Ozon, anlaşılmaz bir dizi yakın çekimden sonra Laura’yı (Isild Le Besco) tam profil göstererek başarılı olmuş. Gelinliğine sarınmıŞ bir halde, sakince bir tabutta yatıyor; asla uyanmayacak bir uyuyan güzel o. Filmin geri kalanında şahsen yer almasa da ruhu yakınları hayatlarında yeni birer sayfa açarken onlarla birlikte kalmaya devam ediyor. Ozon daha sonra üslubunu tam tersi yönde değiştirerek, cenaze evini ziyarete giden Laura’nın en yakın arkadaşı Claire’e (Anous Demoustier) ve David’le (Romain Duris) görüşmelerine doğru yöneliyor. Claire, David’in evine gittiğinde dehşet içinde karanlık bir durumla karşı karşıya kalıyor. David’i eşinin en güzel elbisesini giymiş, peruk takmış ve makyaj yapmış bir biçimde gururla karısını canlandırırken

These Are the Rules Ognjen Svilicic (Croatia)

Ognjen Svilicic's latest feature film explores some important aspects of a collapsing world and brutal society where ordinary people have to face the reality of redefining their personal values. Based on the true story of Luka Ritz, who died in 2008 after he was attacked in the street, this film makes a caustic remark on how society brutally ignores the people it is supposed to protect. Maja (Jasna Zalica) and Ivo (Emir Hadzihafizbegovic) are an ordinary couple living in Zagreb. Their daily routine is fractured when their 18year old son, Tomica (Hrvoje Vladisavljevic), comes home late one night after being beaten in the street. After a visit to the hospital and a couple of x-rays, they confront a system that completely ignores human existence. While Tomica is suffering from headaches, Maja and Ivo are struggling to deal with the fact that their son wants nothing to do with them. Everything collapses when Tomica is found unconscious by his mother in the

buluyor. Ozon, bu noktadan sonra zorlayıcı bir psikodramaya dönüşebilecek materyali alıyor ve giderek daha da fazla gülünçleşen her gelişmeyle meseleyi biraz daha boşa çıkararak konuyu absürtlüğe doğru daha da fazla yöneltiyor. Tuhaf bir canlandırma çabasıyla, David karısının cinsiyetini benimseyerek ve çarpık bir yas tedavisi olarak karşı cinsin kıyafetlerini giyme isteğini benimseyerek ölen karısının anılarını taze tutuyor. Karısının kimliğine bürünmek “onu hatırlatacak bir şey” olarak başlasa da çabucak bir zevk ritüeline dönüşüyor. David, Virginia’ya dönüşüyor ve Claire ve Virginia’nın cinsel anlamda kafa karışıklığı barındıran kardeşliklerinden yeni bir ilişki doğuyor. Ciddi bir yaklaşım gerektiren karmaşık ve politik olarak yüklü materyal de tam olarak bu. Yine de Ozon’un filminde bu şaşkınlık sırta yapılan ağdadan, unutulan ruj, yanlış anlaşılan beceriksizlikler ve özellikle de Katy Perry’nin “Hot&Cold” şarkısı altına montajlanan tiksindirici alışveriş sahnesine doğru bir dizi itişmeye gidiyor. Çok geçmeden David tamamıyla bir drag gibi davranmaya başlıyor (yapay göğüs, korse ve jartiyer takıyor) ve biraz da olsa iç huzuruna kavuşmuş gibi görünüyor: “Kızlar çiçekte, erkekler lahanada doğuyorsa, o zaman ben de karnıbaharda doğmuşum.” Ozon karşı cinsin kıyafetlerini giyme isteğinin yalnızca yastan kaynaklandığı söylemeyecek kadar sorumlu hareket ediyor. Bunun yerine travmaların uzun süredir bastırılan dürtülerin yanı sıra yeni dürtüleri de ortaya çıkarabileceğini gösteriyor.

inandırıcı görünebilirdi. İnandırıcılığı makul ölçüden fazlasıyla askıya alan böyle bir filmde bu anın vahşice bozulacağı da çok belli. Affı olmayan bu tarz bir rolde Romain Duris her iki cinsiyet için de ikna edicilikten oldukça uzak. Virginia olarak abartılı derecede eksantrik, David olarak da bir o kadar akılda kalması zor. Anous Demoustier biraz daha iyi olsa da sorun büyük ihtimalle Ozon’un senaryosunda (Ruth Rendell’ın hikayesinden uyarlanmış). Senaryoya dair tahmin edilebilecek her şey oluyor. Ozon kırılma noktasının fazla dallanıp budaklandığını hissettiği her an kandırmacalı bir rüya sekansıyla işin içinden çıkıveriyor. Cinsiyet kimliği meselelerine odaklanan filmlerin başımızın üstünde yeri var; fakat Yeni Kız Arkadaşım’ın Ozon’un aklındaki film olduğuna inanmak zor. Çelişkili ve rahatsız edici bir üslupta devam eden filmde Ozon seyircisinin yerinden edilmiş kahramanımızla empati kurmasını beklerken izleyiciyi bir yandan da çektiği acıya vicdansızca gülmeye davet ediyor. Her zaman sahip olmak istediğimiz bedenlerin içinde dünyaya gelmiyoruz. Film de bir noktaya kadar bu fikri kabul ediyor. Ama belki de komedi, en azından bu kadar geniş hareket eden bir film, bu düşünce şeklini aktarmanın aracı değildir. Ya da belki de bu işleri sadece Almodovar’a mı bırakmamız gerekiyor? Matthew Turner (Birleşik Krallık)

Ivo is the father who has always followed the rules and obeyed the conventions of the world he lives in. When he finds out his son participated in a fight he feels pride, considering he always urged him to fight back, while the mother expresses her worry about how the life of her son had turned out. Maja is the type of strong mother figure who despite the fact that she knows more about her son than Ivo, she does not really share a real connection with him. They are both trying to live their lives, regardless of the fact that obstacles ahead keep multiplying. As long as they obey the rules, they believe everything will find its own way, even if the death of their child was the outcome of this behaviour. They trust society and its people, they believe in the world they live in. But until when? Everyone they meet shares a disturbing unconcern for their situation. Grief gradually roots inside them, exposing real anger and rage. It is time to act. The minimalism in Svilicic’s images is shown through a slow burning procedure which scars those people who are trying to heal. By showing their everyday small habits, he intensifies the fact that they are just ordinary, small and unable to deal with such injustice. The social extensions of this film are its core. Those people are

Ajanda # 4 16/04/2015 11.00 Tigers FKM 16.00 The Visitor Atlas 19.00 MoB Closing Ceremony Cezayir 19.00 Black Souls Feriye

17/04/2015 11.00 Hippocrates Feriye 13.30 Behavior Rexx 16.00 Yearning Atlas 16.30 Lone Scherfig Master Class BOUN Mithat Alam Film Centre

Filmin sonlarına yakın incelikle ele alınmış bir sahnede, Virginia gittiği kabare barda bir drag-queen’in gözlerine özlemle bakıyor ve önceleri baştan savdığı bir hisse kavuşuyor. Bu hassas noktada bırakılmış olsaydı, Yeni Kız Arkadaşım’ın hikayesi bathroom and eventually dies in the hospital. The sudden change in their life accompanies the realization that the rules they eagerly follow all those years were not made for them. The bureaucracy of the system, either in the hospital or at the police station, keeps breaking them apart. Soon they will know that in this life nothing is given to you unless you claim it.

Festival Agenda & Tips / Festival Ajandası & Öneriler

24.00 Fil'm Hafızası Midnight Party Cosmique Room just numbers to a world that was built on rotten foundations, swallowing every single bit of humanity and throwing up violence. The insignificance of Maja and Ivo’s existence becomes evident through the strong narrative form that is being used. More and more they come to realize that those “barbaric” rules, as Svilicic himself named them, have no meaning at all. Justice should be served in order to release some of the grief and regain power in life. This is what goes around Ivo’s mind until he decides to take the law into his own hands. These Are the Rules can be read as a statement towards parenting, but mostly as a strong criticism towards the hollowness of society and how people stopped caring about each other. Pointing out the importance of family bonds, Svilicic managed to bring to the screen the deep dissatisfaction he feels about the cruel world we are bound to live in. Vicky Griva (Greece)

18/04/2015 11.00 Life in a Fishbowl Beyoğlu 13.30 A Blast Beyoğlu 19.00 Nabat Rexx 2 21.00 Tigers Beyoğlu 24.00 It Follows Atlas

19/04/2015 11.00 Theeb Atlas 2 11.00 Barbarians Beyoğlu 16.00 Voice Over Beyoğlu 19.00 These Are the Rules Rexx 2

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Reviews/Yorumlar

Marshland

It Follows

Alberto Rodriguez (SPAIN)

David Robert Mitchell (USA)

hen one revises Alberto Rodríguez filmography immediately notices that Marshland is the logic and coherent evolution. After the intimist El traje passing by the conflictive teenage drama 7 vírgenes, or the generational portayl in After or Grupo 7, a powerful thriller, there wasn't any other option than a more refined, elegant and academic movie following all the rules of a classic thriller. In this context, the latest winner of the Goya Award for Best Film has become the biggest example of the trend in Spanish cinema: to show that there's more than author or social cinema in Spain. Marshland is set in the Spain of 1980, when Juan and Pedro, two homicide policemen from Madrid, ideologically opposed, are punished and forced to move to a remote and forgotten place in Guadalquivir marshes, in the south of the country, to investigate the disappearance and brutal murder of two teenage girls during their holidays. Together, they must overcome their differences, find and confront a savage murderer who has spent years killing teenage girls in a community rooted in the past where women don't matter to anyone. The first reading of the film might turn out to be too superficial, following a very basic structure and not allowing the plot to take any risk or surprising twist. Even if it has a constant rhythm, Marshland can seem slow due to its weirdly transitions that give the sensation of no continuity, even though there is one. However, its second reading is deeper and more interesting and Rodríguez develops it subtly and slowly, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. Unfortunately, this reading is not too obvious for everyone, including to local politicians, who possibly choose to ignore it after the film hit the headlines in the spanish media. Obviously, this second reading is political and impossible to avoid with the action happening in 1980, during the first years of democracy in Spain. Back then, the shadow of Franco's dictatorship was still

flying above a society that was “not used to be democratic”, as the character of Juan says in the movie. A democracy that seems more settled down in the big cities, yet in places like the Guadalquivir mashes seemed stuck in the past, being more evident the existance of two opposite sides or ideologies, as well as the position of women in the society. This extraordinary place in the south of Spain seems the best place for a crime because of its humid marshes, where the surrounding flora and floodings form secret and misterious perfect spots to hide dead bodies. This somewhat eerie place is introduced to us in the first minutes of the film, through impressive overhead shots that resemble the surface of a distant planet. All of it is photographed by the magical hands of Álex Catalán, who adds sepia a desaturated tones as a metaphor of this apparently quite and antiquated place. Javier Gutiérrez and Raúl Arévalo who play Juan and Pedro respectively, perform two opposed characters that correspond to the still existing two sides during the Spanish transition: Pedro, young and believer of freedom and Juan, an old torturer during the dictatorship. Both accomplish an extraordinary balance, but is Gutiérrez' dark and chilling performance who should get most of the credit ( in fact he did win Best Actor in San Sebastian Film Festival and in the Goya Awards). Although its premise and structure may seem too conventional, the truth is that the political atmosphere, the cinematography and the performance of its actors make Marshland worth seeing. Lucía Ros Serra (Spain)

frightened young girl running on high heels from something invisible and evil sounds like a typical beginning for a vulgar and sloppy horror film. But with that all the similarities between mediocre horror films and David Robert Mitchell’s glorious It Follows end. Without guts and grossness, David Robert Mitchell succeeds in creating tingling suspense à la Alfred Hitchcock. The plot is simple: a sexually transmitted horror starts to spread in the outskirts of Detroit. That means something inhuman will literally start to follow the person who gets the curse by having sex with someone already infected. Young and beautiful Jay is faced with moral dilemmas accompanying the frightful horror when shady Hugh passes it on to her. There to jealousy and tension start to emerge between the male members of the group of friends. The plot may sound ridiculous enough to hope for quite some humour, but laughs are the last things to expect from It Follows. Instead you get continuous gut churning suspense. More than the story itself, the film succeeds in creating scraping tension, which becomes emotionally pleasantly exhausting. Director David Robert Mitchell doesn’t play on blood, guts and grossness, but maintains dignity. With relatively little violence he holds subtle, yet strong tension giving the audience only one little moment of comic relief. The creepy retro synth-pop score by Disasterpiece, who mainly writes soundtracks for video games, adds to the spookiness. It somewhat connects to Robin Couderts equivalently brilliant work in Franck Khalfoun’s masterpiece remake of Maniac in 2012. It is worth mentioning that the Sound Design is quite particular and plays an important role in the film. The bleak visuals and ghastly soundtrack creates an odd and specific universe in the film, manipulating the viewer’s sense of time. The story seems to take place in grey, boring suburbs and abandoned Detroit, but mixing retro vibes

and modern elements leaves it unclear in which decade. The loitering impression and slight apathy of the youngsters is in accordance with the gloomy and dull scenery. The environment is one of the subjects which Mitchell refers to, but doesn’t get deeper into. He leaves plenty of ends untied and storylines unfinished, yet not in a bothering sense. For example, the film focuses rather obliquely on relationships between parents and teenagers. The difficulties in communication emerge first in the constant absence of parental supervision and repeated references to alcoholism; but really manifest themselves in the scene where the monster in Greg’s mom’s form kills Greg by seemingly having sex with him – an interesting reversed approach to the Oedipus complex. And finally when the gruesome creature takes – among many others – Jay’s father’s form. Other than the seemingly carelessly scattered references, which open up new dimensions for the film, the story itself has simple rules and it sticks to them. Which may be one of the most disturbing aspects of all – there seems to be not even a slightest chance for a miraculously happy ending. It Follows leaves you at unease and wanting to frequently look over your shoulder. Make sure there is always more than one exit to the room you're in. Mitchell seems to be the multitalented kind of director who tries (and succeeds in) different genres. After The Myth of the American Sleepover and It Follows the bar is set quite high, but I doubt he will disappoint people who are into his kind of style. Maarja Hindoalla (Estonia)

ÂŠ Martin Monk

Röportaj/Interview

Becoming Sergej Eisenstein Finnish actor Elmer Bäck has made a splash across the festival circuit as the protagonist in Peter Greenaway’s film Eisenstein in Guanajuato. Portraying the legendary Russian filmmaker Sergej Eisenstein, he is a newcomer hailing from TV and theatre. While the film is considered controversial, Bäck’s performance as one of the most important figures in film history and his sexual awakening is considered to be one of the best in European cinema this year. We met him to talk about his work and creative process.

What made you want to play Eisenstein? I think for me it was pretty obvious that if Peter Greenaway asks, I think I would have said yes to any project (laughs). I read about three pages of the script and put it away because I had understood two things: one was that it was a lovely script, and the second was that I knew I could play it. Sometimes you get something, and intuitively know after a few pages that you can do it; it felt very close. It was a wonderful script and a wonderful character and of course I had a lot of respect for Peter Greenaway even before I had this chance. I didn’t have to think about it at all.

What was most challenging about the role? It was challenging in every way. It almost became so challenging that it was freeing. It was my first big film role, which was already a challenge and then of course there is English being a foreign language and the physicality and the nudity. It was a very big challenge in every single way. Was the sex scene in the middle of the film particularly awkward? Peter talked about this scene from the beginning and he told me frankly what he needed. In the end we had one rehearsal

and most of it is in one shot, which I think was the correct way because the nervousness from our side works in the scene. Of course it was a thing I thought about a lot, but you think about these things more before and when you do it you just do it, you just work. I knew it was going to be… (laughs) something else. I have to say it was more work for Luis Alberti than for me; he has all the lines and has to do all the action. Technically I just had to be there. Doing something like that you can’t protect yourself, you are naked in every sense; physically but also psychologically. There’s no possibility to shield yourself. In that sense you are very vulnerable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman, it’s always difficult.

"Sometimes you get something, and intuitively know after a few pages that you can do it; it felt very close. It was a wonderful script and a wonderful character and of course I had a lot of respect for Peter Greenaway even before I had this chance. I didn’t have to think about it at all. "

Did you know Eisenstein’s work well beforehand?

happening. So I read about it, and tried to get into it.

I didn’t know much. I knew about Eisenstein and I knew Battleship Potemkin, but that’s the only one of his films I had seen. Of course I knew about montage theory, but nothing about his personal life. I was much more familiar with Greenaway’s work than with Eisenstein’s work.

Do you have a specific creative process when you prepare for a character?

Do you think Eisenstein’s political views should have been explored more in this film? That would have been a different film. I thought about this and how convinced a communist he was. He wasn’t interested politically until the revolution. It could have been interesting but for me, what happened in Mexico was political because he was breaking out of the communist dogma. It is a political awakening because he is awakening to life. He was intellectually communist and now this is very much about the body. And sexuality is always political. How did you prepare? Since Peter has had a relation to Eisenstein for most of his life, he wrote the script as if he was writing about a very good friend. The character was very alive already on the page so I had a very intuitive feeling of how to play it and I wanted to keep that. That was my first thought; not losing the things that I feel intuitively. Having said that, I read three biographies and started learning Russian because in the beginning we were going to film some scenes in both languages. I actually learned many lines in Russian. And of course I studied the history of that time; the revolution and the Soviet regime. Artistically it was a very interesting period and there was a lot

Yes, I have some techniques I picked up, actually based on Russian theories. Some Konstantin Stanislavsky and some Michael Chekhov. It was funny that I used Stanislavsky to play Eisenstein because Eisenstein was very against his realistic theory. I also have physical training; to find how to be someone else in the body. But I also use intuition, reading a feeling without using a certain technique. Feeling yourself is very important. And of course the accent was important too, but it is difficult because it easily becomes a parody. I had the privilege of finding ten minutes of him speaking English in a video online. The interesting thing is that he was brilliant with languages. He wouldn’t have an accent if he didn’t want to. Since the accent he has is his own choice, I could play with it. He is something of an actor himself, acting this big Russian film director in his own life. What was it like for you to work with Peter Greenaway? Well, what helped me a lot was having worked in theatre. Peter’s work in cinema is close to theatre. He likes long takes and he said from the beginning that he wanted performers. I have to say I enjoyed it very much. I think he is very good at creating a world or an atmosphere on set that makes it easy to live in. It was very inspiring to work in that. He gave me such a wonderful character for such a wonderful rich role. Sometimes you get a character you can do very little with; with this I felt like there’s really nothing I can’t do. The ceiling in his world is so high so you can’t break it. I also enjoyed working with him because

he knows exactly what he wants. Did you improvise at all with your lines? I don’t think I improvised a single line. When it’s beautifully written, it has its own rhythm, its own melody. If it’s well-written, you will destroy it by putting in your own words. Peter has a very good sense for language so I really felt no need to add anything. But I was very free in terms of physicality. He gave me a lot of freedom but I was already doing it the way he wanted it to be, so it worked. Can you tell us about your future plans? Well, we are actually planning two more Eisenstein movies with Peter. Prequels to this one. One about his time in Europe and Switzerland, and one about him in Hollywood, where he tried to make a film. They are less about him as a person but film history. Lynn Klein (Luxembourg)