The first day opened with the first part of the Brief Encounters Short Film Selection. Strong films from the International Panorama section of the programme were also screened today such as “The Summit” by Santiago Mitre, “Radiance” by Naomi Kawase, “The Other Side of Hope” by Aki Kaurismaki, “The House By the Sea” by Robert Guediguian and “Custody” by Xavier Legrand.
As for the competing films of this year, “Murtaza” by Özgür Sevimli was the first to be screened today. Murtaza, a first feature film from the director, competing on the national competition, tells the story of Sabure and Murtaza living in a village up in the mountains of Malatya, Murtaza, trying to deal with the loss of their daughter, hiding secrets from his wife.
“A Window to Rosalia”, a film by Caroline Leone was screened today, a film from the international competition. A film viewing the changes of a 63 year old woman’s life who laid off from her factory job in São Paulo where she served for 30 years. It’s also Caroline Leone’s first feature film after various short films.
Another film, taking part in the international competition was screened today: “Life and Nothing More”. A film by Antonio Mendez Esparza, “Life and Nothing More” tells the story of a young African American in today’s America, trying to find himself in the weight of his responsibilities in the family. This is director’s second feature and first English language film.
The last film screened from the national competition today was “Zer” by Kazim Oz, the story of Jan who is trying to find the song his grandmother sang him once, trying to finds his roots basically, finding some secrets that he didn't know before. Kazim Oz is an awarded director, scriptwriter and producer who got awards by many of the prominent film festivals by his former 2 films.
The day went on by screenings of films from the national and international tribute films such as “Loveless” by Andrey Zyvagintsev and also a film from the “60 Years of Friendship: Cinema of South Korea” section: “The Way Home” by Jeong-hyang Lee.
For the “In Memoriam: Halit Refig” section, a cult Turkish film “Teyzem (1987)” was screened and then Umit Unal, the scenarist of the film, Hulya Kocyigit, an actress having worked a lot with Halit Refig, and Halit Refig’s wife answered questions in a panel. Halit Refig’s realistic and sensitive approach to social subjects in his films were the main subject in the speech.
And for the “Tribute: Mesut Ucakan” section, Reis Bey (1988) was screened and then the director answered questions about his early works, his current works and his mystical texture in his films.
An ambitious program for the weeklong festival is waiting for filmlovers in Malatya.
