New Turkish Cinema
Encyclopedia
New Turkish Cinema: Beloning, Identity and Memory is a 2010
I.B. Tauris
publication by Istanbul Technical University
Associate Professor Asuman Suner which examines the emergence of the new wave Turkish cinema, including both commercial and independent productions, against the backdrop of the drastic transformation undergone by Turkey since the mid-1990s and how these films persistently return to the themes of belonging, identity and memory. The book, which was published on , is an extensively revised and re-wriiten update of an earlier edition published by Metis Press, Istanbul, in 2006.
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, arguably the most internationally acclaimed director of new Turkish cinema, are discussed by the author, who claims that they are mainly about acknowledging the paradoxes of home and belonging.
, which centre on characters who are agitated or detached, draw upon highly-dramatic and violent events, and use compulsive repetition in the narrative, are discussed by the author, who claims they direct attention to the dark underside of domesticity and the home.
2010 in literature
The year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
I.B. Tauris
I.B. Tauris
I. B. Tauris is an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York.-History:I.B.Tauris was founded in 1983. Its declared strategy was to fill the perceived gap between trade publishing houses and university presses—that is, to publish serious but accessible works on international...
publication by Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third oldest technical university dedicated to engineering sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one of the most prominent educational institutions in Turkey...
Associate Professor Asuman Suner which examines the emergence of the new wave Turkish cinema, including both commercial and independent productions, against the backdrop of the drastic transformation undergone by Turkey since the mid-1990s and how these films persistently return to the themes of belonging, identity and memory. The book, which was published on , is an extensively revised and re-wriiten update of an earlier edition published by Metis Press, Istanbul, in 2006.
Introduction
The author briefly outlines the history of Turkish cinema in order to place the emergence of new Turkish cinema in into hitorical and cultural context.Chapter 1: Popular Nostalgia Films
New popular Turkish films focusing on the provincial small-town life of the past, which voice a critique of modern Turkish society through an idealized representation of the past as a time of collective childhood, are discussed by the author, who finds this critique problematic, however, as it renders society unaccountable for the events of the past and alleviates it from the burden of responsibility.Filmography
- PropagandaPropaganda (film)Propaganda is an award-winning 1999 Turkish comedy film written, directed and produced Sinan Çetin. The film, which is a darkly surreal comedy set in a sleepy village in the southeast Turkey in 1948, starred popular comedy actor Kemal Sunal, who died the same year, in his final role...
(1999) directed by Sinan ÇetinSinan ÇetinSinan Çetin is a Turkish actor, film director, and producer.Çetin was born as the son of a customs officer and studied art history at Hacettepe University. Çetin has produced full-length films and television series, and foremost, commercials... - Offside directed by Serdar Akar
- The WaterfallThe WaterfallThe Waterfall is a 2001 Turkish comedy-drama film, written and directed by Semir Aslanyürek, about a famous painter returning to his hometown to remember his childhood in a politically divided home just before the 1960 military coup d'état...
directed by Semir Aslanyürek - VizonteleVizonteleVizontele is a 2001 Turkish comedy-drama film, written and directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan and co-directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak, based on the writer-director's childhood memories of the arrival of the first television to his village in the late 70's. The film, which went on nationwide release on , won...
(2001) directed by Yılmaz ErdoğanYilmaz ErdoganYılmaz Erdoğan is a Turkish filmmaker, actor and poet, who is most famous for his box-office record-breaking debut comedy film Vizontele and the television series Bir Demet Tiyatro ....
and Ömer Faruk Sorak - Vizontele TuubaVizontele TuubaVizontele Tuuba is a 2004 Turkish comedy-drama film, written and directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan, based on the writer-director's childhood memories of the last summer of his childhood in village in 1980...
(2004) directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan - My Father and My Son directed by Çağan IrmakCagan IrmakÇağan Irmak is a Turkish film and television writer and director, who has managed to attract a large audience in Turkey and is best known for the TV series Çemberimde Gül Oya and Asmalı Konak , and for the hit films Alone and My Father and My Son , for which he received Turkish Cinema Writers...
- The InternationalThe International (2006 film)The International is a 2006 Turkish comedy-drama film, directed by Muharrem Gülmez and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, about a group of local musicians preparing to play at a large military parade in a small town near Adana, Turkey...
directed by Muharrem Gülmez and Sırrı Süreyya ÖnderSırrı Süreyya ÖnderSırrı Süreyya Önder is a Turkish fim director, actor, screen writer, columnist, and an MP elected in the Turkish general election, 2011.-References:...
Chapter 2: New Political Films
The new wave of Turkish political films, which show the effect on normal people of the country's traumatic recent past (including police brutality, disappearances, repression of religious and ethnic minorities and the Turkey–PKK conflict), are discussed by the author, who argues these films interrogate questions of national identity and belonging in common with transnational cinemaTransnational cinema
Transnational cinema is a developing concept within film studies that encompasses a range of theories relating to the effects of globalization upon the cultural and economic aspects of film...
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Filmography
- Journey to the Sun directed by Yeşim UstaoğluYeşim Ustaoğlu- Life and career :Ustaoğlu was born in Çaykara in eastern Turkey and grew up in Trabzon on the Black Sea. After studying architecture at the Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, she worked as an architect, then as a journalist and a film critic. Before she made her feature film debut The Trace...
- In Nowhere Land directed by Tayfun Pirselimoğlu
- Mud directed by Derviş ZaimDervis ZaimDerviş Zaim is a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker and novelist, who has twice won the Golden Orange for Best Director for Elephants and Grass and Dot ; Golden Oranges for Best Film and Best Screenplay for Somersault in a Coffin ; and the Yunus Nadi literary prize for his debut novel Ares in Wonderland...
- Waiting for the CloudsWaiting for the cloudsWaiting for the Clouds is a film from 2003, Turkey. The film was directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu.It is based on a novel by Georgios Andreadis titled Tamama. The film was produced by Setarh Farsi, Helge Albers and Behrooz Hashemian...
directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu - Toss-UpToss-UpToss-Up is a 2004 Turkish drama film, produced, written and directed by Uğur Yücel, starring Kenan İmirzalıoğlu and Olgun Şimşek as two soldiers return home from their military service in southeastern Turkey with disabilities...
directed by Uğur YücelUgur YücelUğur Yücel is a Turkish film actor, producer and director. He graduated from the Theater department at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory . He took part in several plays between 1975 and 1984 in Kenter Tiyatosu , Tef Kaber Theatre, Dormen Theatre, and Şan Müzikholü...
Chapter 3: The Cinema of Nuri Bilge Ceylan
The films of the Cannes Grand Jury Prize-winning auteur-filmmaker Nuri Bilge CeylanNuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a Turkish photographer and film director. He is married to the filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, his co-star in İklimler .-Life:Ceylan learned photography at age 15, and developed an interest in film at 22....
, arguably the most internationally acclaimed director of new Turkish cinema, are discussed by the author, who claims that they are mainly about acknowledging the paradoxes of home and belonging.
Filmography
- CocoonKozaA Koza is a Polish bagpipe.The Polish pipes are more related in appearance to some old German pipes. It uses a large goatskin bag and a single reed chanter, cylindrical bore and deep pitch, with a large horn and brass bell at the end. The bass drone typically has the same bell. It is usually...
directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Small TownKasaba (film)Kasaba is a 1997 Turkish film directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. It is also known under the English title The Small Town. It was Ceylan's first feature film.-Cast:*Cihat Bütün *Emin Ceylan *Fatma Ceylan *Muzaffer Özdemir *Havva Saglam...
directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Clouds of MayMayis Sikintisi-Cast:* Emin Ceylan* Muzaffer Özdemir* Fatma Ceylan* Emin Toprak* Muhammed Zımbaoğlu* Sadık İncesu-External links:*...
directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Distant directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- ClimatesIklimlerClimates is a 2006 Turkish drama film directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The film charts the decline and possibility of renewal of the relationship of a professional Istanbul couple, İsa and Bahar, played by Ceylan and his wife Ebru Ceylan. It was Ceylan's first film shot on High-definition...
directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Chapter 4: The Cinema of Zeki Demirkubuz
The films of prominent auteur-filmmaker Zeki DemirkubuzZeki Demirkubuz
Zeki Demirkubuz is a contemporary Turkish film director, screenwriter, producer and film editor.- Biography :...
, which centre on characters who are agitated or detached, draw upon highly-dramatic and violent events, and use compulsive repetition in the narrative, are discussed by the author, who claims they direct attention to the dark underside of domesticity and the home.
Filmography
- Block C directed by Zeki Demirkubuz
- InnocenceMasumiyetMasumiyet is a 1997 Turkish dramatic film directed by Zeki Demirkubuz and starring Derya Alabora, Haluk Bilginer and Güven Kıraç. It was followed by a prequel Kader produced in 2006.- Cast :* Derya Alabora ~ Uğur* Haluk Bilginer ~ Bekir...
directed by Zeki Demirkubuz - The Third Page directed by Zeki Demirkubuz
- Fate directed by Zeki Demirkubuz
- ConfessionThe Confession (2002 film)The Confession is a 2002 Turkish drama film directed by Zeki Demirkubuz. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Taner Birsel - Harun* Başak Köklükaya - Nilgün* Iskender Altin* Miraç Eronat...
directed by Zeki Demirkubuz - The Waiting Room directed by Zeki Demirkubuz
- DestinyKader (film)Destiny is a 2006 Turkish drama film, produced, written and directed by Zeki Demirkubuz, starring Vildan Atasever as a bar singer who is in love with a somewhat unstable criminal. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , won awards at film festivals in Antalya, Ankara,...
directed by Zeki Demirkubuz
Chapter 5: New Istanbul Films
The new transitional genre of Istanbul Films, which offer alternative ways of seeing the city to its former privileged position in Turkish cinema, is discussed by the author, who claims that these films recycle and reuse traditional clichés about the city rather than negating them.Filmography
- Somersault in a CoffinSomersault in a CoffinSomersault in a Coffin is a 1996 Turkish comedy-drama film, written and directed by Derviş Zaim, about a homeless criminal and car thief. The film, which was released on , received awards at several international film festivals including the Golden Orange for best film at the Antalya International...
directed by Dervis ZaimDervis ZaimDerviş Zaim is a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker and novelist, who has twice won the Golden Orange for Best Director for Elephants and Grass and Dot ; Golden Oranges for Best Film and Best Screenplay for Somersault in a Coffin ; and the Yunus Nadi literary prize for his debut novel Ares in Wonderland... - Istanbul TalesIstanbul TalesIstanbul Tales is a 2005 Turkish drama-anthology film, directed by Selim Demirdelen, Kudret Sabancı, Ümit Ünal, Yücel Yolcu and Ömür Atay, which tells 5 interconnected stories set in modern day Istanbul based on the fairytales Snow White, Cinderella, Pied Piper, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red...
directed by Selim Demirdelen, Kudret Sabancı, Ümit ÜnalÜmit ÜnalÜmit Ünal is a film director, screenwriter and author. Born in 1965 in Turkey, he is the scriptwriter for eight Turkish feature films including Teyzem , Hayallerim, Askim ve Sen . He has published one book of stories and two novels. He has been working as a TV commercials director since 1996...
, Yücel Yolcu and Ömür Atay - Head-OnHead-OnHead-On is a 2004 film written and directed by Fatih Akın.-Synopsis:Cahit Tomruk is a Turkish German in his 40s. He has given up on life after the death of his wife and seeks solace in cocaine and alcohol. One night, he intentionally drives his car head-on into a wall, and barely survives...
( / , 2004) directed by Fatih AkınFatih AkinFatih Akın is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent.- Personal life :Akın was born in 1973 in Hamburg to parents of Turkish ethnicity... - Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of IstanbulCrossing the Bridge: The Sound of IstanbulCrossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul is a 2005 film/documentary directed by Fatih Akın. The film is a journey through the music scene in modern Istanbul, Turkey as well as portraying its cultural life. It was screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.It features German...
directed by Fatih AkınFatih AkinFatih Akın is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent.- Personal life :Akın was born in 1973 in Hamburg to parents of Turkish ethnicity... - The MovieThe Movie"The Movie" is the fifty-fourth episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 14th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on January 6, 1993.-Plot:...
directed by Kerem Topuz
Chapter 6: The Absent Women of New Turkish Cinema
The absence of women, a major defining characteristic of new Turkish cinema, is discussed by the author, who suggests this is shaped by an ambivalence of the filmmakers who subordinate women to men and deny them agency but have a critical self-awareness of their complicity with patriarchal society.Filmography
- Vasfiye is Her Name directed by Atıf YılmazAtif YilmazAtıf Yılmaz Batıbeki was a renowned Turkish Kurdish film director, screenwriter and film producer. He was almost a legend in the film industry of Turkey with 119 movies directed. He also wrote 53 screenplays and produced 28 movies since 1951. He was active in almost every period of the Turkish...
Afterword
The author provides a general assessment of new Turkish cinema on the basis of the arguments in the preceding chapters.External links
from the publisher- Turkey’s new wave cinema tackles difficult topics by Asmuan Suner on Today's ZamanToday's ZamanToday's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....