Reha Erdem is the recipient of the Boston Turkish Film Festival Excellence in Turkish Cinema Award in 2008.

First North America retrospective of Reha Erdem’s films took place at the Boston Turkish Arts and Culture Festival in 2007.

Saturday, April 4    2:40 p.m.
Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston

SYNOPSIS

Hayat (14), her father and bedridden grandfather live in a riverside shack near the dangerously dark, but breathtakingly beautiful waters of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Hayat’s father owns a small boat that secures the family’s survival through a miscellany of not always lawful ventures. Beyond the motion and romance of the water, Hayat’s life is harsh and unrelenting. But Hayat has an instinct for survival. Her capacity for courage, endurance and hope in the face of these trials suggest that there is life despite the manifold injustices of an unjust world.  

SELECTED FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

• Berlin International Film Festival, Germany (2009):  “Tagesspiegel” Readers’ Jury Special Prize
• Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2008): SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics’ Association) Special Prize
• Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Ireland (2009)
• Turkey / Germany Nürnberg Film Festival (2009)
• Turkish Films Week, Berlin, Germany (2009)
• Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey (2009)
• Singapore International Film Festival (2009)

Director REHA ERDEM

Reha Erdem left his history studies at Istanbul Bosphorus University in 1983 to study cinema in Paris. He graduated from Cinema Department of Paris 8 University. He obtained his M.A. in Plastic Arts at the same university. He shot his first feature-length film Oh Moon (A Ay) in 1989 as a French-Turkish co-production. The Film was nominated for The European Film Academy Awards in 1990, awarded at the Nantes Film Festival, and screened in numerous international film festivals. It was selected The Best Film of The Year by the Turkish Film Critics’ Association (SIYAD).  Run for Money (Kaç Para Kaç), his second feature-length film in 1999, competed and screened in many festivals, was selected as the official submission of Turkey for the Academy Awards. Erdem’s third feature film Mommy, I'm Scared (Korkuyorum Anne) received FIPRESCI Award at the 23rd International Istanbul Film Festival in 2004 among many other awards. His 2006 film, Times and Winds (Beş Vakit) was acclaimed by international festivals and received numerous awards, including FIPRESCI and Best Turkish Film Awards at the 25th Istanbul International Film Festival. Its US premiere was at the Tribeca Film Festival where it received splendid reviews as well as the attention of the distributors. He also has short films and directed a theater play, Maids (Les Bonnes) by Jean Genet at the Istanbul National Theater in 1991 with a unique interpretation.