Black Dogs Barking
Encyclopedia
Black Dogs Barking is a 2009 Turkish drama film
, written, produced and directed by Mehmet Bahadır Er with co-director Maryna Gorbach, starring Cemal Toktaş as a naive young parking attendant who gets mixed up with the mob in pursuit of his dream of running his own car park. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , won awards at film festivals in Antalya and Ankara and its newcomer directors have been hailed as Turkey’s answer to Martin Scorsese
, for their inventive shooting style and authentic ear for the city’s underground slang demonstrated in this their debut film.
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After postponing its much anticipated release for months, the film opened across Turkey on .
, states that the film "delves into a recurring theme in Turkish cinema for the last couple of years, the existential angst faced by second-generation men whose families have migrated to Istanbul in the hopes of better lives," and recommends it to those "who are curious about the hype surrounding Turkish cinema’s answer to Martin Scorsese and Guy Ritchie," but not to those "who are bored by the recurring theme."
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, written, produced and directed by Mehmet Bahadır Er with co-director Maryna Gorbach, starring Cemal Toktaş as a naive young parking attendant who gets mixed up with the mob in pursuit of his dream of running his own car park. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , won awards at film festivals in Antalya and Ankara and its newcomer directors have been hailed as Turkey’s answer to Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, for their inventive shooting style and authentic ear for the city’s underground slang demonstrated in this their debut film.
Plot
Selim’s family has migrated from Anatolia to İstanbul. A naive young man without any special training or expertise, he likes to feed pigeons on the rooftop of the building he lives in. Selim’s best friend, Çaça Celal, is a local tough guy. Selim and Çaça work for a man they refer to as Usta, running car parks in the ritzy neighborhood on the other side of the road. Their greatest dream is to have a car park of their own. In a club that Selim frequents, he meets Mehmet, who makes an offer that will change their lives foreverPremiere
The film premiered on January 25, 2009 at the International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
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After postponing its much anticipated release for months, the film opened across Turkey on .
Festival screenings
- 38th International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival RotterdamThe International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
(January 21-February 1, 2009) - 28th Istanbul International Film FestivalIstanbul International Film FestivalThe Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
(April 4–19, 2009) - 35th Seattle International Film FestivalSeattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
(May 21-June 14, 2009) - 23rd Wine Country Film Festival (September 17–27, 2009)
- 36th Gent International Film Festival (October 6–17, 2009)
- 25th Warsaw International Film FestivalWarsaw International Film FestivalWarsaw International Film Festival , also known as the Warsaw FilmFest, is a film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 1985....
(October 9–18, 2009) - 46th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (October 10–17, 2009)
- 32nd Starz Denver Film FestivalDenver Film FestivalThe Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...
(November 12–22, 2009) - 4th Bursa International Silk Road Film Festival (November 14–22, 2009)
- 11th New York Turkish Film Festival (December 2–5, 2009)
- 21st Ankara International Film Festival21st Ankara International Film FestivalThe 21st Ankara International Film Festival is a film festival held in Ankara, Turkey that ran from March 11 to 21, 2010.This edition of the Ankara International Film Festival, organized by The World Mass Media Research Foundation and accredited by FIPRESCI, opened with a gala on the evening of...
(March 11–21, 2010) - 21st Munich Turkish Film Days (March 21–29, 2010)
Reviews
Emrah Güler, writing in Turkish Daily NewsTurkish Daily News
The Hürriyet Daily News, formerly Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review, is the oldest current English-language daily in Turkey....
, states that the film "delves into a recurring theme in Turkish cinema for the last couple of years, the existential angst faced by second-generation men whose families have migrated to Istanbul in the hopes of better lives," and recommends it to those "who are curious about the hype surrounding Turkish cinema’s answer to Martin Scorsese and Guy Ritchie," but not to those "who are bored by the recurring theme."
Accolades
- 46th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (October 10–17, 2009) - Best Supporting Actor: Volga Sorgu (Won)
- 21st Ankara International Film Festival21st Ankara International Film FestivalThe 21st Ankara International Film Festival is a film festival held in Ankara, Turkey that ran from March 11 to 21, 2010.This edition of the Ankara International Film Festival, organized by The World Mass Media Research Foundation and accredited by FIPRESCI, opened with a gala on the evening of...
(March 11–21, 2010)- Best Supporting Actor: Volga Sorgu (Won)
- Cinema Writers Association Best Film Award (Won)