”IF ÇAĞLA AND GUILLAUME WERE TO SHOOT A WEDDING, I WOULD GO TO THAT TOO.”

Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, actor in the Golden Orange International Competition film “Confidante,” praised directors Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti with these words. There was great interest in the discussion that followed the film's screening at AKM..

The 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, following its spectacular opening ceremony, has begun presenting the best and newest examples of Turkish and world cinema to audiences without delay.

Today, the team behind the International Competition film “Confidante” appeared before the audience following the screening at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM) Aspendos Hall. The discussion featured the film's co-writers and directors, Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti, along with actors Saadet Işıl Aksoy, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Nilgün Türksever, and İlber Uygar Kabaoğlu.

The movie is about Arzu, who works at a 900 number service in Ankara in 1999, and how her life changes after she gets a call for help from under the rubble following a major earthquake. Zencirci, who described the movie as “a family film,” said that despite budget constraints and the obstacles they entailed, filming wasn't difficult. We worked with our cinematographer, Eric Devin, on the film Sibel. We got to the point where we understood each other without even talking. Eric contributed to every shot. He especially advised us to squeeze our character into the frame, as if he, too, had been trapped under the rubble in the earthquake, creating a frame within a frame. Osman Özcan also made a significant contribution to our ability to implement these ‘frame within a frame’ techniques in all the sets."

When asked why different colours were used for other sections in the film, which takes place in a single location, Zencirci again referred to financial constraints: “Each space needed to have its own distinct character. We made the impossible possible! I should mention that the lights look this way because they are made of toilet paper. We were able to create these lights using A4 paper and toilet paper.

Saadet Işıl Aksoy, who plays the character Arzu in the film, also shared a set memory at this point: "We had been filming for a while when Erkan joined us. He came to the set, took a look around, saw A4 papers hanging everywhere, and said, ‘They said it was a low-budget film, but I wasn't expecting this. Now I understand where I am better.’"

Erkan Kolçak Köstendil then laughed and took the microphone, saying, “I'd like to exercise my right to reply.” He continued, “I want to clarify the A4 issue; yes, there were A4 sheets of paper for the lights. It's a story from '99; it was the period when Müslüm Gürses's Gülhane concert exploded, and I wanted to perform in a white suit.”. Ama bütün ışık dengesini bozduğum için o takımı giyemedim” Oyuncu, sözlerini; “This is my second film with Çağla and Guillaume. I know their passion for cinema, their love for it so well... If they said, ‘Someone's getting married, we're going to film it,’ I'd probably go and act in it too,” he concluded.

In response to a question from the audience, Saadet Işıl Aksoy described the character she plays, Arzu, as follows: "Arzu is an intelligent woman. She has to do this job because of her responsibilities. Her top priority is to gain custody of her child, which is a major motivator. She is courageous, but her lack of social skills prevents her from fully embracing life. To the extent that we cannot hold on to life, we lose our self-confidence and begin to cling to the things we feel confident about, or we do this job of talking on the phone, thinking we are doing the best we can. For me, the biggest motivation was her child's issue."