THE BUS
Otobüs
North America Premiere
Directed by Tunç Okan
Cast: Tuncel Kurtiz, Tunç Okan, Björn Gedda, Aras Ören, Nuri Sezer
1976 / 75 min. / with English subtitles
A Turkish Cinema classic, “The Bus” is a story of refugees. Okan brilliantly tells the drama of people who have set off from Anatolia and fallen into a completely different reality. Nine Turks who wanted to take refuge in foreign lands, hoping for a better life, set off with an old bus towards Stockholm, relying on a fellow citizen. After encountering all sorts of difficulties, they do manage to get there. However, the driver parks the bus on a square in Stockholm and leaves it under the pretext of taking care of official procedure, taking with him the passports and the money of the nine would be workers, warning them not to leave the bus under any circumstances.
Selected Festivals and Awards
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (1975): C.I.D.A.L.C. Award, Don Quijote Award
- Strasbourg Film Festival, France (1975): Special Jury Prize
- Taormina International Film Festival, Italy (1976): Best First Film Award
Director TUNÇ OKAN
Tunç Okan (Istanbul, 1942) graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University in 1963. He is an actor, writer, producer and director. He was first involved in cinema by a magazine competition in 1964 as an actor. His first film was Goodbye Kiss. After acting in 16 films, he left Turkey and lived first in Germany and later in Switzerland and practiced his actual profession as a dentist. The Bus was his debut film as a director. His other films as director are The Yellow Mercedes (Mercedes mon amour, 1993) and Grapes of Hope (Umut Üzümleri, 2013). |
