New Turkish Cinema

ADAM AND THE DEVIL (Adem'in Trenleri)

Thursday, November 20, 2008, 9:30 p.m.
Kendall Square Cinema
One Kendall Square, Cambridge

2007, 100 minutes. 35mm. In Turkish with English subtitles.
Directed by Baris Pirhasan
Cast: Nurgul Yesilcay, Cem Ozer, Derya Alabora, Erkan Tasdogan

Synopsis

“Doing good deeds to secure a place in heaven is all that a man of faith seeks in life. And it is something that all religions encourage. But doing good to this end also implies ambition an overriding sense of purpose and arrogance.” These words of director Barış Pirhasan are perfectly projected in the protagonist of the film, İmam Hasan. Arriving with his ultimately shy wife and young daughter in the small and close-knit community of a remote railway station, the man strikes us “first as cruel, then as blessed and finally as pathetic”. The station staff and their families soon discover the secrets of the new arrivals, who shy from making friends with the community and seem to have little affection even for each other. But the eponymous Adem, who strikes up a friendship with the imam’s daughter, sees and hears everything and blithely relays it into the community. The imam, it turns out, married Hacer out of pity when she was dumped, pregnant, by the man she loved – a good deed perhaps, but the family dynamics have always stopped them being accepted in society (…) With all the positive qualities of an independent film, Adam and The Devil deals with universal concepts such as faith, morality, integrity and compassion and reaches out to a wide audience through its touching love story. – Alin Tasciyan, Film Critique

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association) Awards, Istanbul, Turkey (2007): Best Supporting Actress (Derya Alabora)
Canberra International Film Festival, Australia (2007)
Taormina Film Festival, Italy (2007)
Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey (2007)
Golden Orange Film Festival, Antalya, Turkey (2007)

Director BARIS PIRHASAN

Graduated from Bogazici University in English Language and Literature, Pirhasan launched his film career as a co-writer on Ömer Kavur’s 1983 feature, “Blindman’s Bluff / Körebe”. Between 1989 and 1992, he studied directing at the National Film & TV School in England. In 2004, he set up “Script Studio”, bringing together a collective of independent writers to generate projects for film and television.

Filmography:
Adam and The Devil / Adem’in Trenleri (2007)
Summer Love / O da Beni Seviyor (2001)
Sawdust Tales / Usta Beni Öldürsene (1998)
Gül and Adem / Gül ile Adem (short, 1996)
Little Fishes / Kücük Baliklar (1990)