Archive of films Singing Women / Şarki Söyleyen Kadinlar

Turkey / Germany / France
2013, 128 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2014

An island off the coast of Turkey is steeling itself for a destructive earthquake. What’s more, inhabitants who defied the mass evacuation order are having to cope with the outbreak of a mysterious illness as insanity slowly spreads among the islanders. This beguiling film by an established Turkish director works with a mesmeric atmosphere and rich symbolism.

Synopsis

The latest film by leading Turkish director Reha Erdem develops the aesthetics of his previous screen achievements. The plot centres this time on an isolated family who, despite a mass evacuation order, have decided to remain in their home on an island which is soon to be struck by a destructive earthquake. The apocalyptic nature of the threat is heightened by a mysterious illness affecting both the animals in the vicinity, which fall dead to the ground, and the remaining inhabitants of the island, whose lives have been overturned by these strange events. The women start to experience an unprecedented sense of affinity with their natural surroundings and with destiny itself, while the men are pushed to the brink of insanity. The director’s extremely imaginative vision gives rise to a highly symbolic story which presents an original portrayal of a dysfunctional society, here trying to cope in an unsettled world buffeted by the elements. This beguiling film, in its very essence a mesmeric and profound experience, may also be seen as an allegory of contemporary society.

About the director

Reha Erdem (b. 1960, Istanbul) left for France in 1983 to study film and fine art at L’Université Paris 8, after studying history at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University. His first feature Oh, Moon (A ay, 1989) screened at the festival in Nantes. His next feature A Run for Money (1999) represented Turkey at the Academy Awards, and his third film, the comedy Mommy, I’m Scared (2004), took four awards at Antalya. Times and Winds (2006), a mosaic of everyday life in a poor village, took the main award at Istanbul. Inspired by a work by Turkish poet Yahya Kemal Beyatli, Erdem also shot the short Song of the Sea (1995), the experimental short Anytime in October (2006), and more than a hundred TV commercials. KVIFF audiences were fortunate to have the chance to see many of his films in a retrospective organized by the festival in 2012.

Contacts

Atlantik Film
Üst Zeren sokak No:2, 1. Levent, 343 30, Istanbul
Turkey
Tel: + 90 212 278 361 1
Fax: + 90 212 278 197 1
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.atlantikfilm.com

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Another View

Director:	Reha Erdem
Screenplay:	Reha Erdem
Dir. of Photography:	Florent Herry
Music:	Arvo Pärt
Editor:	Reha Erdem
Producer:	Ömer Atay
Production:	Atlantik Film
Coproduction:	Bredok Film Production, KMBO Production
Cast:	Binnur Kaya, Philip Arditti, Kevork Malikyan, Deniz Hasguler, Vedat Erincin
Contact:	Atlantik Film