12th
Boston Turkish Festival proudly presents the first North America
retrospective
of the films of Reha Erdem, a rare opportunity to watch the films of
one of the young directors of contemporary Turkish cinema, who
recently has received remarkable international attention with
"Time and Winds". The film enthusiasts in Boston are
familiar to the works of Reha Erdem with films such as "A Run for
Money" and "What's a Human Anyway?", screened at the
Boston Turkish Film Festivals in previous years. In this retrospective
you will have an opportunity to watch all his works, including his
rarely screened but internationally acknowledged film, "Oh
Moon".
Co-presented
with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Sunday
- December 9, 2007 at 1:30 p.m.
Remis Auditorium
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston Directions
WHAT'S
A HUMAN ANYWAY?
Insan
Nedir ki?
a.k.a. Korkuyorum Anne
Directed
by Reha Erdem
2004 / 128 min.
In Turkish with English subtitles
Thirty-five-year-old Ali (Ali Düsenkalkar) is knocked unconscious in an
accident, possibly related to the robbery of a jewelry store, and has
lost his memory. Although he remembers many of the people who live in
his apartment building, he cannot remember his father, Rasih (Koksal
Engur), a retired health officer. Rasih is vexed by this state of
affairs and continuously insults his son and his amnesia. Coming to
recognize the strange reality of being human, Ali is like a newborn
baby, not only trying to remember past events, but also exploring his
own body.
Mirroring Ali's confusion, all the characters in the story find
themselves in a state of chaos - chaos being life itself. As Ali's
father and neighbors try to help him remember, other comical characters
are introduced.
In the film's finale, pieces of the intricate puzzle finally fit, and
all of the events each character has experienced create a larger picture
of what it means to be human.
"The film is sweet, very humanistic (hence the title) and very
entertaining. … It has the potential to please audiences around the
world." - Engin Ertan, Fipresci (International Critics'
Association)
Festivals and Awards: 10th Nurnberg Turkey-Germany Film Festival - Best Actor (Ali
Dusenkalkar) (2005)
16th International Ankara Film Festival - Best Director, Best Screenplay
(Reha Erdem, Nilufer Gungormus), Best Actor (Ali Dusenkalkar), Best
Supporting Actress (Isil Yucesoy), Best Supporting Actor (Koksal Engur),
Best New Actor (Ozan Colak)
23rd International Istanbul Film Festival (National Competition)
FIPRESCI (International Critics' Association) Award
Director REHA
ERDEM:
Reha
Erdem began his studies in history at Bogazici University in Istanbul.
In 1983, he went to Paris 8 University to major in Cinema and Modern
Art and completed a graduate degree. He directed his first feature
film, A Ay (Oh Moon) in 1989. It received awards at the Nantes
Film Festival, and was screened at the Locarno, Moscow, Vancouver and
Dunkerque Film Festivals. His second feature, Kac Para Kac (A Run
for Money, 1999) represented Turkey at the Academy Awards for Best
Foreign Language Film. It was featured at the Tokyo, Munich, London,
Oslo, Thessaloniki and Seattle Film Festivals, and also was screened
in the 3rd Boston Turkish Film Festival in 2004. Erdem was invited to
direct Hizmetciler (The Maids) by Jean Genet for the Istanbul
National Theater in 1991. He directed a short film called Deniz
Turkusu (The Sea Song), inspired by the poem of famous Turkish
poet Yahya Kemal Bayatli. Since 1990, he has directed over a hundred
TV commercials. In 1993, he founded Atlantik Film production company
with Omer Atay.
Filmography:
Times and Winds / Bes Vakit (2006)
What's A Human Anyway? / Insan Nedir ki? a.k.a. Korkuyorum Anne (2004)
Song of the Sea / Deniz Turkusu (Short, 2001)
A Run for Money / Kac Para Kac (1999)
Oh Moon / A Ay (1989)
Reha
Erdem began his studies in history at Bogazici University in Istanbul.
In 1983, he went to Paris 8 University to major in Cinema and Modern
Art and completed a graduate degree. He directed his first feature
film, A Ay (Oh Moon) in 1989. It received awards at the Nantes
Film Festival, and was screened at the Locarno, Moscow, Vancouver and
Dunkerque Film Festivals. His second feature, Kac Para Kac (A Run
for Money, 1999) represented Turkey at the Academy Awards for Best
Foreign Language Film. It was featured at the Tokyo, Munich, London,
Oslo, Thessaloniki and Seattle Film Festivals, and also was screened
in the 3rd Boston Turkish Film Festival in 2004. Erdem was invited to
direct Hizmetciler (The Maids) by Jean Genet for the Istanbul
National Theater in 1991. He directed a short film called Deniz
Turkusu (The Sea Song), inspired by the poem of famous Turkish
poet Yahya Kemal Bayatli. Since 1990, he has directed over a hundred
TV commercials. In 1993, he founded Atlantik Film production company
with Omer Atay.