The selection was no surprise, since the film had already won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. It was also recommended by European Film Academy for nomination for the European Film Awards.
It is the second nomination for Ceylan. Turkey also nominated his Cannes breakthrough film The Distant (Uzak) in 2003.
Three Monkeys, coproduced by Zeyno Film (Turkey), Pyramide Productions (France), and Bim Distribuzione (Italy), has already been released in Italy, Taiwan and India, and has been sold to several territories including France, England and Ireland, Greece, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Russia, and the Baltic States. The film will make its national premiere in the 45th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (October 10-19), and will be theatrically released by UIP in Turkey on the October 24 with 55 prints. On 15 screens, the film will be relayed by HD digital projectors, the first commercial digital release in Turkey.
