Nuri Bilge Ceylan retrospective at the Int’l Golden Boll Film Festival
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 10, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The 16th Golden Boll (Altın Koza) Film Festival kicked off last night in the southern city of Adana with an opening ceremony welcoming its guests. Director of international fame and prestigious awards, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, will head the jury for the National Competition while his career will be remembered in a section devoted to him
The 16th Golden Boll (Altın Koza) Film Festival greeted its guest in the southern city of Adana last night, welcoming honorary award recipients, acclaimed names from Turkish cinema and jury members.
Although it’s only the 16th time the festival has met movie buffs in Adana, it celebrates its 40th year this year, with earthquakes, economic and political turmoil having halted the festival throughout the decades.
Special section for Ceylan
The Golden Boll Film Festival can very well be considered a celebration of director of international fame Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s career. A special section, "Nuri Bilge Ceylan Retrospective," will screen Ceylan’s national and international award-winning films, which include "Kasaba" (Small Town), "Mayıs Sıkıntısı" (Clouds of May), "İklimler" (Climates), "Uzak" (Distant) and the recent "Üç Maymun" (Three Monkeys). Ceylan is also the head of the National Competition’s jury. An interview session with Ceylan will be held on June 12. The session will also feature Ebru Ceylan, Mehmet Eryılmaz, Ercan Kesal and Hatice Aslan, who have worked with the director throughout his career. Here’s a brief look at Ceylan and his career.
Ceylan may have visited Cannes more than his hometown since the beginning of his impressive career, having won the best director, grand jury and FIPRESCI prizes in the last five years. Ceylan’s first visit to the Cannes Film Festival goes back to 1995 when his first black and white short film "Koza" (Cocoon) was screened in the festival. His "Uzak" won the grand jury and the best actor prizes in 2003, his "İklimler" won the FIPRESCI Movie Critics Award two years ago, while Ceylan brought home the Best Director Award last year with his "Üç Maymun."
Better known among high-brow cinefiles in Turkey and Europe than the mainstream Turkish audience, the Turkish auteur received his Grand Jury Award from Sting in 2003, with the music legend putting his name next to celebrated filmmakers Fellini, Tarkowski, Von Trier and Angelopoulos.
Ceylan, originally a photographer, is a true auteur with a unique minimalist style, themes of alienation and strong autobiographical elements predominate in all his films. It’s no surprise that around 20,000 viewers watched "Uzak" in Turkey, while this number almost quadrupled in France.
Ceylan’s films reflect his other identity as a photographer, with landscape photography drawing the viewers into stillness, long sequences, amateur actors and minimum dialogue. His films are minimalist in the truest sense of the word. His movies literally and metaphorically are journeys back home. These journeys are actually Ceylan’s trips to his hometown, where parents, relatives and friends become the actors.
Ceylan is not a big fan of visual effects, sound effects, dubbing or even musical scores. That is one of the occasional critiques of his cinema. But he’s not one to give in to popular demands, or to a high number of audiences. He’s shy in front of the media or when the center of attention. He has stories to tell. Or perhaps he has emotions to reflect. He’s often compared to another auteur, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, with his awe of grand rural landscapes, child protagonists and themes on existential angst.
A quick look at the translations some of his films’ titles can give an accurate picture of his filmmaking: Cocoon, Small Town, Clouds of May, Distant and Climates.
To the National Competition
Nuri Bilge Ceylan will head the jury for the National Competition consisting of actors Mazlum Çimen, Özgü Namal, Meltem Cumbul, Bulut Aras, writer Füruzan, director Özcan Alper, cinematographer Uğur İçbak, and movie critic Zeynep Tül Akbal Süalp. The members of the jury for the Cinema Critics Association, or SİYAD, will be daily Radikal’s cinema critic Uğur Vardan, Özgür Şeyben and Yusuf Güven.
Although it’s only the 16th time the festival has met movie buffs in Adana, it celebrates its 40th year this year, with earthquakes, economic and political turmoil having halted the festival throughout the decades.
Special section for Ceylan
The Golden Boll Film Festival can very well be considered a celebration of director of international fame Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s career. A special section, "Nuri Bilge Ceylan Retrospective," will screen Ceylan’s national and international award-winning films, which include "Kasaba" (Small Town), "Mayıs Sıkıntısı" (Clouds of May), "İklimler" (Climates), "Uzak" (Distant) and the recent "Üç Maymun" (Three Monkeys). Ceylan is also the head of the National Competition’s jury. An interview session with Ceylan will be held on June 12. The session will also feature Ebru Ceylan, Mehmet Eryılmaz, Ercan Kesal and Hatice Aslan, who have worked with the director throughout his career. Here’s a brief look at Ceylan and his career.
Ceylan may have visited Cannes more than his hometown since the beginning of his impressive career, having won the best director, grand jury and FIPRESCI prizes in the last five years. Ceylan’s first visit to the Cannes Film Festival goes back to 1995 when his first black and white short film "Koza" (Cocoon) was screened in the festival. His "Uzak" won the grand jury and the best actor prizes in 2003, his "İklimler" won the FIPRESCI Movie Critics Award two years ago, while Ceylan brought home the Best Director Award last year with his "Üç Maymun."
Better known among high-brow cinefiles in Turkey and Europe than the mainstream Turkish audience, the Turkish auteur received his Grand Jury Award from Sting in 2003, with the music legend putting his name next to celebrated filmmakers Fellini, Tarkowski, Von Trier and Angelopoulos.
Ceylan, originally a photographer, is a true auteur with a unique minimalist style, themes of alienation and strong autobiographical elements predominate in all his films. It’s no surprise that around 20,000 viewers watched "Uzak" in Turkey, while this number almost quadrupled in France.
Ceylan’s films reflect his other identity as a photographer, with landscape photography drawing the viewers into stillness, long sequences, amateur actors and minimum dialogue. His films are minimalist in the truest sense of the word. His movies literally and metaphorically are journeys back home. These journeys are actually Ceylan’s trips to his hometown, where parents, relatives and friends become the actors.
Ceylan is not a big fan of visual effects, sound effects, dubbing or even musical scores. That is one of the occasional critiques of his cinema. But he’s not one to give in to popular demands, or to a high number of audiences. He’s shy in front of the media or when the center of attention. He has stories to tell. Or perhaps he has emotions to reflect. He’s often compared to another auteur, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, with his awe of grand rural landscapes, child protagonists and themes on existential angst.
A quick look at the translations some of his films’ titles can give an accurate picture of his filmmaking: Cocoon, Small Town, Clouds of May, Distant and Climates.
To the National Competition
Nuri Bilge Ceylan will head the jury for the National Competition consisting of actors Mazlum Çimen, Özgü Namal, Meltem Cumbul, Bulut Aras, writer Füruzan, director Özcan Alper, cinematographer Uğur İçbak, and movie critic Zeynep Tül Akbal Süalp. The members of the jury for the Cinema Critics Association, or SİYAD, will be daily Radikal’s cinema critic Uğur Vardan, Özgür Şeyben and Yusuf Güven.