Boston Turkish Film Festival and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston are proud to present the first retrospective of Director Dervis Zaim's films in North America.
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
116 min. / 2010
Cast: Settar Tanrıöğen, Buğra Gülsoy,
Osman Alkaş, Hazar Ergüçlü
Last film of Zaim's trilogy made around traditional Ottoman arts (Waiting for Heaven/Cenneti Beklerken on miniatures, Dot/Nokta on calligraphy), Shadow and Faces is the coming-of-age story of a young girl who is separated from her father, a Karagöz shadow play master, during the beginning of the conflict between Turks and Greeks in Cyprus in 1963. With a backdrop of extraordinary natural beauty, the experiences of the villagers fleeing from their village in the Island’s Karpas region to the relatively secure but alienating city sheds light on the story of Cyprus.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
78 min. / 2008
Cast: Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu, Serhat Kılıç,
Settar Tanrıöğen,
Recounts the tale of a man tormented by a crime he once committed and now anxious to redeem himself. Prevailed upon by a friend, Ahmet is reluctantly involved in the theft of an invaluable antique Koran. However, this act pushes him into unwanted and unfamiliar territory. The action of the film, which advances along an axis of crime and punishment, organically incorporates one of Turkey’s traditional art forms, calligraphy, into the story. Strikingly, calligraphy marks both language and the content in the film’s structure as a single, fluid shot. Dot follows on the heels of Waiting for Heaven (Cenneti Beklerken), a film woven around the traditional art of miniature painting.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
107 min. / 2006
Cast: Serhat Tutumluer, Melisa Sözen
Eflatun is a master miniature artist who's living in 17th century Istanbul. One day, he's taken to the vizier's mansion by force. There he learns that Danyal, one of the Ottoman princes who has ignited an insurrection, is arrested in a far off state and to be executed soon. Eflatun is ordered to make a portrait of the rebel prince who's been condemned to death in a Western manner to help the authorities be certain on the identity of him. Upon the order, Eflatun sets off for an arduous journey to Anatolia. He picks up a girl named Leyla en route. Together, they find themselves in a great venture fraught with sensations.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
98 min. / 2003
Cast: Engin Alkan, Taner Birsel, Yelda Reynaud, Mustafa Uğurlu, Bülent Yarar
Due to a mysterious illness, Ali loses his voice. His sister, Ayse, believes that science can help him, but he knows that something more is needed. He turns to the rumored healing powers of the lake on the Turkey–Cyprus boarder, and when Ali stumbles upon the statue of an ancient fertility god buried in the mud, his friend sees a potential money-making opportunity. However, his get-rich-quick scheme puts everyone in danger.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
115 min. / 2000
Cast: Ali Sürmeli, Sanem Çelik, Bülent Kayabaş, Haluk Bilginer, Uğur Polat,
Semir Aslanyürek, Ezel Akay
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Written and Directed by Derviş Zaim
76 min. / 1996
Cast: Ahmet Uğurlu, Tuncel Kurtiz, Ayşen Aydemir
The winter nights are bitter cold in Istanbul, and Mahsun steals food and cars in an attempt to survive. A gritty portrait of Istanbul, the film captures a mood of frustration and disenchantment with authority, and questions what constitutes a crime.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
Dervis Zaim's Somersault in a Coffin (Tabutta Rövasata, 1996) was his debut as director and screenwriter, which won awards at film festivals in Antalya, Montpellier, San Francisco, Thessalonika and Torino. It was followed by Elephants and Grass (Filler ve Cimen, 2000), which won awards at film festivals in Antalya and Istanbul, and Mud (Camur, 2003), the winner of the UNESCO Award at the Venice Film Festival. Zaim made a trilogy, themed around traditional Turkish arts: Waiting for Heaven (Cenneti Beklerken, 2006), nominated for the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul International Film Festival; Dot (Nokta, 2008), winning awards at film festivals in Antalya and Istanbul; and Shadows and Faces (Golgeler ve Suretler, 2010), winner of the Turkish Film Critics Association Award at the 47th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.