LAST CONTESTANTS OF THE GOLDEN ORANGE WERE ON STAGE

As the excitement of the Golden Orange Festival draws to a close, two National Feature Films, one International Feature Film, and one National Documentary Film have been screened.

The final competition films were also screened at the 62nd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Following the screenings at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM), Aspendos and Perge halls, the film crews answered questions from the audience.

Fragmented years, fragmented people

Directed by Hasan Tolga Pulat, “Parçalı Yıllar” was the first National Competition film of the day. Following the screening at the AKM Aspendos Hall, director Hasan Tolga Pulat, cinematographer Serdar Ünlütürk, and actors Yetkin Dikinciler and Levent Özdilek participated in a discussion.

The film, which examines the era of erotic movies known as “interludes” that filled cinemas during a period when Turkey was driven into political uncertainty and ultimately a military coup, resulting in the complete demise of Turkish cinema, was well received by audiences.

Hasan Tolga Pulat, who says he has been thinking about this period since his university years, explained that the story developed over the years: “Since 2005, I've had this idea in my head to do something related to the erotic film era, but I didn't really know what to do. Later, the story evolved from telling about the erotic film era to telling about a character caught between his own truths and the realities of life.”

Pulat described that period as follows: "I find this period very worth telling. It corresponds to the beginning of corruption in Turkey and the rise of opportunism. This period was reflected in the cinema. But leaving these behind, I have a paranoia about how much a character, a person, a father can protect his truths; I tried to tell that story. I tried to create a place in the film where everyone is right because life truly is a place where everyone is right."

“Let's live integrated years, not fragmented ones.”

Lead actor Yetkin Dikinciler began his remarks by referencing a famous cliché, saying, “For years, I've been looking for a film where I could strip down for art.” Expressing that the dilemmas experienced by the character he portrays are experienced by all actors and even all people, Dikinciler said, “People are always forced to overcome something; they are in a struggle between their ideals, the realities of life, and the hardships of life.”

The actor, who also evaluates “Parçallı Yıllar” sociologically, said: "The film's title also stood out as a metaphor. Yes, there were years when fragments came between us, but they were also years when people tried to tear themselves apart first and then their opponents apart for the sake of their ideology and what they believed in. This repeats itself from time to time. I think that when we realise that our goal in this period is to break down prejudices, when we try to break down prejudices, we will no longer live fragmented years, but integrated ones."

Actor Levent Özdilek commented on the period he personally experienced: "I lived through those times; these films came to me too. But back then, we were resisting both in terms of theatre and politically. Tolga also said it; life has different stages. As you have more to lose, I'm not talking about property, but when you have a child, that's the most important thing—your attitudes can change." We filmed precisely those years, 1975-1980, in the movie. My son was born on September 12. And I had to do some things that I hadn't done or had resisted doing. So when I read the script, I said, ‘Ah!’ This film would be like a document of that period. It would also be a document of my own life, my artistic and political journey."

“En Güzel Cenaze Şarkıları” that subtly mocks the middle class

The other National Competition film of the day was “En Güzel Cenaze Şarkıları” Following the screening, a discussion was held with director Ziya Demirel and actors Esra Dermancıoğlu, Halil Babür, Gözde Mutluer, Hidayet Tili, Nalan Kuruçim, Çağdaş Ekin Şişman, Ayça Damgacı, and Özer Keçeci.

Director Ziya Demirel described the emergence of the film's narrative style, which is composed of many different stories, as follows: "I was influenced by content such as identity fraud, feelings for someone you've never seen from afar, and curiosity that arises after grief. I was also hearing news related to this content. On the one hand, some stories were separate but gradually converged... I wrote six sentences with Yusuf Tan Demirel, and we wrote improvised scenes for each section.". We imagined a scenario in which the audience is thrown into a scene, doesn't know who's who, and feels they've arrived late.

When asked about the impact of this content on acting, Esra Dermancıoğlu was the first to speak: “Working with a director who knows how to manage the script is a huge comfort. Yes, there was improvisation, but I looked into Ziya's eyes a lot. I like improvisation, but since it was something Ziya envisioned, I chose to go in that direction.” Halil Babür said, “I think that many things that are considered acting skills are actually the skills of the director and screenwriter,” adding, “If the story hadn't been well-constructed, our improvisation as actors could have turned into a disaster.” After reading the script, Ayça Damgacı expressed her desire to be in this film, regardless of the role. She said, “I'm very happy to be in this film because it opens up a new world, gently mocking middle-class habits and culture, and creating a comforting space.”

An ‘artist’ film in the International Competition

The film “The Currents,” which depicts the inner transformations of the successful artist Lina through a unique cinematic language, was the International Feature Film Competition entry of the day. Following the screening, lead actress Isabel Aime Gonzalez Sola answered questions from the audience. Sola said of her work with director Milagros Mumenthaler, “She is a director with a vision who pays great attention to detail. With this vision, our film developed very carefully,” and explained how she created her character: "When I first read the script, there was no complete character analysis by the director, so it was left to the actors to think about it. In my opinion, Lina's journey is an inner journey. The difficult part is conveying that inner journey, bringing that inner storm to the surface. Lina is trying to escape from something deep inside, but at the same time, she accepts that she cannot escape and continues her journey."

The 501st of 500 goats; Cengiz

The last film in the Golden Orange competition was “501 Keçi” from the Documentary Competition. Director Evrim Çervatoğlu and cinematographer Reşat Okan Candem, who followed Cengiz Taşçı, the 501st goat among 500 goats in the highlands of the Eastern Black Sea, appeared before the audience after the screening.

The director, who said the documentary emerged from his conversations with Taşçı, said: "I would see Cengiz from time to time; actually, we are both from the same region. Sometimes I had the opportunity to talk to him. He only gave us one condition for filming the documentary: ‘I will smoke whenever I want!’” He explained why they referred to Taşçı as the ‘Keçi 501’ as follows: “Far away from the other two supporting characters, living a solitary life… Actually, losing his family at a very young age, then starting a life with goats, acting as a mother, an older brother, a sibling, a companion to them..."

Emphasising the difficulty of tracking the goats' movements daily, cinematographer Candem said, "In the end, I thought I needed to draw a rotation. I worked hard all day to figure out which direction the animals would go, from which angle, how I could sense them, and how I could convey the real feeling. The environment was also difficult; 20 centimetres of snow fell, and the next day there was none! Evrim and I were constantly arguing. At one point, we drew with pen and paper; we worked like guerrillas."

Ahmet Seyrekbasan, executive producer of “Tanıştığıma Memnun Oldum”, one of the other films in the National Documentary Competition, praised his colleagues with these words: “We watched something wonderful. We've been watching documentaries for days, and we're also competing, but if we can compete with you, we're proud of ourselves.”