Forum of Independents - Competition 2013 / Sen Aydınlatırsın Geceyi / Turkey 2013
Cemal lives in a city where the inhabitants have all sorts of unusual abilities, and although strange things happen to them they lead rather normal lives. His story, about a complicated relationship with a girl named Yasemin, is imbued with unbounded imagination and formal playfulness.
This independent Turkish film is set in an unnamed small town in Anatolia whose inhabitants possess various supernatural powers but still have to deal with ordinary problems. Cemal helps out in his father’s barbershop and in his free time acts as a football referee. But when he wins over the heart of a local girl, Yasemin, whom he then marries, things begin to get complicated. While he is willing to have an affair with street-side bookseller Defne, he also suspects his wife of being unfaithful. This highly original film captivates the viewer through its playful treatment of its formal aspects and various meanings. The conscious stylization uses absurdity and metaphor as fully-fledged tools of expression that won’t go unnoticed by the audience. This wildly imaginative love story recalls the methods of magic realism and, in addition to its obvious partiality for ostentatious cinematic effects, the film becomes an unpredictable odyssey with lots of surprising twists.
107 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Onur Ünlü
/ Screenplay Onur Ünlü
/ Dir. of Photography Vedat Özdemir
/ Editor Emre Boyraz
/ Producer Orkun Ünlü, Funda Alp
/ Production Eflatun Film
/ Cast Ali Atay, Demet Evgar, Damla Sönmez, Ercan Kesal, Ezgi Mola
/ Contact Eflatun Film
www: www.thougildsttheeven.com
Onur Ünlü (b. 1973, Izmir, Turkey) did his Master’s degree and then focused on screenwriting, production and directing. Nevertheless, his feature film debut came a whole ten years after completing his studies. Police (2007), a story about a detective investigating a murder, was shown at numerous festivals, including the Moscow International Film Festival. Just a year later, Ünlü completed the genre films The Kid (2008) and The Son of the Sun (2008). Five Cities (2009), the tragic story of a group of heroes, was a festival success in Turkey, winning several awards. His penultimate film, The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan and His Family (2011), was also positively received.
Eflatun Film
Mevlüt Pehlivan Sk. 26/6, , Istanbul
Turkey
Phone: +90 212 274 9295
E-mail: [email protected]
Onur Ünlü
Film Director
Funda Alp
Producer
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