Kaplan Film Production

EGG /PRESS

31/05/2008
27h Istanbul International Film Festival
Dimitris Haritos /Investor's World

27h Istanbul International Film Festival
The neighbor's cinema
by Dimitris Haritos
Istanbul's uniqueness still continues to be very evident to the eyes of the visitor, with the delicate balance of co-existence it strikes between the centuries-old Islamic East and the incongruent western wave that is making its presence ever more distinct from year to year but with nevertheless a slow pace of assimilation of the former by the latter. Otherwise this political, ethnic, social and definitely cultural uniqueness would not exist. And, of course, today's Turkey is neither Iran nor the Arab peninsula. What we have here is a historic, intercultural struggle that is taking place in its national genetic code, whose finalization and form cannot be determined in terms of time. It is obvious that the meeting of Europe and Asia on this privileged geographical point has created a new "ethnomorphic" amalgam of social and cultural behaviors and interests. And while in the post socialist era Balkans the scale appears to have tipped decisively towards westernization, on Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) in Pera you are entranced by the human river of multicultural blending from all social levels that flows past you all day and all night. From the samples of religious ambiguity to those of the extremely secularized but dynamic new generation, along with the remnants of the indigenous Istanbul bourgeoisie and their nostalgic visions of their Ottoman past~
Perhaps more than any other narrative art, cinematic representational immediacy can depict representative samples of this dual Turkish reality, sometimes directly and sometimes using symbolism and allusion, but always interesting to the aLert viewer. And we Greeks have a justifiable interest in our neighbor's cinema, an interest that is historical, emotional, and even political. Besides, this interest is mutual.
The Istanbul International Film Festival has a staff of informed and unswerving film buffs. And this year's 2th festival was also characterized by the same eclectic composition of both the international competition (with 15 films) and the other sidebar sections, giving a distinct emphasis on the artistic and mainly sociopolitical representation of the current international reality.
The Greek presence
The Greek presence was discernible but indirect. For yet another year none of our films participated in the competition. The best Turkish film, however, "Yumurta" (EGG) by Semih Kaplanoglu was a co-production with Greece (Inkas Production, Lilette Botassi). Also, In the important parallel program "Human rights in cinema" (for which the Council of Europe has established the "Face" Award) Spiros Stathoulopoulos' well known to us film "PVC- 1." (a Colombian production) also participated. In addition, our own Evanthia Reboutsika composed the excellent soundtrack for the major Turkish production "Ulak" ("The messenger") by Cagan Irmak.

So Turkish cinema was "present" with 16 feature films and 12 documentaries. Of the
feature films, 11 competed in the National Section, 4 in the Information Section,
while Semih Kaplanoglu' s "Yumurta" ("Egg") participated only in the International Competition where it also won the Golden Tulip.

Celibate and introverted, the poet YusufKoksal, the hero of the film "Yumurta" ('"Egg"), lives in Istanbul. Upon his mother's death he returns to his rural birthplace, a town forgotten by time, intending to return to Istanbul right after the funeral. However, his young and distant relative Ayla, who looked after his mother, pressures him to fulfill a pledge, a debt to the deceased. So his return "stumbles" on repeated postponements for reasons that appear fortuitous. In his old and crumbling house and the drab town with its slow pace something is being "hatched". The egg encased in its shell contains the "ingredients" of hope and of life. The film is a rare elegy packed with poetic techniques, which highlights the pivotal minimalist approaches of the directing. An outstanding example of European cinema with authentic Turkish "raw material" . ...