Turkish Cinema

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Filmography

* These films are available on DVD or VHS.

1960

Susuz yaz (Dry Summer)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1967, 90 mins.)
Director: Metin Erksan and David E. Durston
Cast: Ulvi Dogan, Erol Tas, Hülya Kocyigit
THEMES:

1970

Umut (Hope)*
(Turkey (Turkish),1970, 100 mins.)*
Director: Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren
Cast: Yilmaz Guney, Gulsen Alniacik, Tuncel Kurtiz, Kursat Alniacik
THEMES:

Baba (The Father)
(Turkey (Turkish),1971, 96 mins.)
Director: Yilmaz Guney
Cast: Yilmaz Guney, Muserref Tezcan, Kuzey Vargin, Aytac Arman
THEMES:

Gelin (The Bride)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1973,)
Director: Lutfi Akad
Cast: Hulya Kocyigit, Kerem Yilmazer, Kahraman Kyral, Ali Sen, Aliye Rona, Kamram Usluer
THEMES:

Selvi Boylum al Yazmalim (The Girl with the Red Scarf)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1977, 90 mins.)
Director: Atif Yilmaz
Cast: Turkan Soray, Kadir Inanir, Ahmet Mekin, Hulya Tuglu, Cengiz Sezici
THEMES:

Suru (The Herd)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1978, 129 mins.)
Director: Yilmaz Guney and Zeki Okten
Cast: Tarik Akan, Melike Demirag, Erol Demiroz, Levent Inanir, Sener Kokkaya, Tuncel Kurtiz
THEMES:

Hazal
(Turkey (Turkish), 1979, 90 mins.)
Director: Ali Ozgenturk
Cast: Turkan Soray, Talat Bulut, Bahir Ates, Meral Cetinkaya
THEMES:

1980

At (The Horse)*
(Turkey / West Germany (Turkish), 1982, 116 min.)
Director: Ali Ozgenturk
Cast: Bektas Altinok, Ylhami Bekir, Ayberk Colok, Erol Demiroz, Sidika Duruer
THEMES:

Yol (The Road)*
(Turkey / Switzerland / France (Turkish), 1982, 114 mins.)
Director: Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren
Cast: Tarik Akan, Serif Sezer, Halil Ergun, Meral Orhonsay, Necmettin Cobanoglu
THEMES:

Duvar (Mur/ The Wall)*
(Turkey / France (Turkish / French), 1983, 117 mins.)
Director: Yilmaz Guney
Cast: Tuncel Kurtiz, Ayse Emel Mesci Kuray, Malik Berrichi, Nicolas Hossein, Isabelle Tissandier
THEMES:

Anayurt Oteli (Motherland Hotel)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1987, 110 mins.)
Director: Omer Kavur
Cast: Macit Koper, Sahika Tekand, Orhan Cagman, Serra Yilmaz
THEMES:

Su Da Yanar (Water Also Burns)
(West Germany / Turkey (Turkish), 1987, 111 mins.)
Director: Ali Ozgenturk
Cast: Tarik Akan, Sahika Tekand, Natalie Douverne, Turgut Savas, Fahriye Abla
THEMES:

Muhsin Bey (Mr. Muhsin)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1987, 145 mins.)
Director: Yavuz Turgul
Cast: Sener Sen, Ugur Yucel, Sermin Hurmeric, Osman Cavci
THEMES:

1990

C Blok*
(Turkey (Turksih), 1994,)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Serap Aksoy, Ulku Duru, Zuhal Gencer, Feridun Koc, Fikret Kuskan
THEMES:

Ciplak (Nude)
(France / Greece / Turkey (Turkish), 1991, 120 mins.)
Director: Ali Ozgenturk
Cast: Meral Cetinkaya, Sumru Yavrucuk, Jale Arika, Sami Hazinses, Hulya Karakas
THEMES:

Eskiya (The Bandit)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1996, 121 mins.)
Director: Yavuz Turgul
Cast: Sener Sen, Ugur Yucel, Yesim Salkim, Kamran Usluer, Sermin Hurmeric, Ulku Duru, Ozkan Ugur
THEMES:

Hamam (Steam: The Turkish Bath)*
(Italy / Turkey / Spain (Turkish / Italian), 1997, 94 mins.)
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Cast: Alessandro Gassman, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi, Halil Ergun, Serif Sezer, Mehmet Gunsur
THEMES:

Isiklar Sonmesin (Let the Lights Shine On)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1997,)
Director: Reis Celik
Cast: Selmin Karaali, Tuncel Kurtiz, Berhan Simsek, Tarik Tarcan
THEMES:

Kasaba (The Small Town)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1997, 85 mins.)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Cihat Butun, Emin Ceylan, Fatman Ceylan, Havva Saglam, Emin Toprak
THEMES:

Masumiyet (Innocence)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1997, 110 mins.)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Guven Kirac, Derya Alabora, Haluk Bilginer
THEMES:

Nihavend Mucize*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1997,)
Director: Atif Yilmaz
Cast: Turkan Soray, Haluk Bilginer, Lale Mansur, Beyaz, Meltem Savci, Sukran Gungor
THEMES:

Tabutta Rovasata (Somersault in a Coffin)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1996, 76 mins.)
Director: Dervis Zaim
Cast: Ahmet Ugurlu, Tuncel Kurtiz, Aysen Aydemir, Mahmut Benek, Ahmet Cediladirci, Baris Celiloglu
THEMES:

Aprilkinder (April Children)
(Germany (Turkish / German / Kurdish), 1998, 85 mins.)
Director: Yuksel Yavuz
Cast: Inga Busch, Ercan Durmaz, Ozgur Ozata, Serif Sezer, Bulent Sharif, Senem Tepe
THEMES:

Gemide (On Board)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1999, 102 mins.)
Director: Serdar Akar
Cast: Erkan Can, Haldun Boysan, Yildiray Sahinler, Naci Tasdogen, Ella Manea
THEMES:

Harem*
(Turkey / Italy / France (Turkish / French / Italian), 1999, 110 mins.)
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Cast: Marie Gillain, Alex Descas, Lucia Bose, Valeria Golino, Malick Bowens, Christophe Aquillon, Serra Yilmaz, Haluk Bilginer, Pelin Batu
THEMES:

Hoscakal Yarin (Goodbye Tomorrow)
(Turkey (Turkish), 1998,)
Director: Reis Celik
Cast: Orhan Aydin, Meltem Berent, Gonen Bozbey, Mazlum Cimen, Bulent Colak, Hikmet Karagoz, Tuncel Necmioglu
THEMES:

Gunese Yolculuk (Journey to the Sun)*
(Turkey / Netherlands / Germany (Turkish / Kurdish / Dutch), 1999, 104 mins.)
Director: Yesim Ustaoglu
Cast: Nazmi Qirix, Newroz Baz, Mizgin Kapazan, Ara Guler, Lucia Marano
THEMES:

Mayis Sikintisi (Clouds of May)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1999, 130 mins.)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Emin Ceylan, Muzaffer Ozdemir, Fatma Ceylan, Emin Toprak, Muhammad Zimbaoglu, Sadik Incesu
THEMES:

Propaganda*
(Turkey (Turkish), 1999, 120 mins.)
Director: Sinan Cetin
Cast: Kemal Sunal, Metin Akpinar, Meltem Cumbul, Rafet El Roman, Meral Orhonsay, Ali Sunal
THEMES:

Ucuncu Sayfa (The Third Page)*
(Turkey / Italy / France (Turkish), 1999, 92 mins.)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Basak Koklukaya, Ruhi Sari, Erol Babaoglu, Umit Cirak, Zeki Demirkubuz
THEMES:

2000

Dar Alanda Paslasmalar (Offside)
(Turkey (Turkish), 2000, 120 mins.)
Director: Serdar Akar
Cast: Akasya, Fatih Akyol, Mujde Ar, Sezai Aydin, Sahnaz Cakiralp, Erkan Can
THEMES:

Filler Ve Cimen (Elephants and Grass)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2000, 115 mins.)
Director: Dervis Zaim
Cast: Ali Surmeli, Sanem Celik, Bulent Kayabas, Haluk Bilginer, Ugur Polat, Semir Aslanyurek, Ezel Akay
THEMES:

Gule Gule*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2000, 105 mins.)
Director: Zeki Okten
Cast: Esref Kolcak, Zeki Alasya, Metin Akpinar, Yildiz Kenter, Sukran Gungor
THEMES:

Hicbiryerde (Innowhereland)
(Turkey (Turkish), 2002, 90 mins.)
Director: Tayfun Pirselimoglu
Cast: Zuhal Olcay, Parkan Ozturan, Michael Mendl, Ruhi Sari, Meral Okay, Cezmi Baskin
THEMES:

Itiraf (Confession)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2002, 100 mins.)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Taner Birsel, Basak Koklukaya, Yskender Altyn, Mirac Eronat, Gulgun Kutlu
THEMES:

Yazgi (Fate)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2001, 119 mins.)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Emrah Elciboga, Engin Gunaydin, Demir Karahan, Feridun Koc, Serdar Orcin, Zeynep Tokus
THEMES:

Buyuk Adam Kucuk Ask/ Hejar
(Turkey / Greece / Hungary (Turkish / Kurdish), 2001, 120 mins.)
Director: Handan Ipekci
Cast: Sukran Gungor, Dilan Ercetin, Fusun Demirel, Yildiz Kenter, Ismail Hakki Sen
THEMES:

Fotograf (The Photograph)
(Turkey (Turkish), 2001, 66 mins.)
Director: Kasim Oz
Cast: Muhlis Asan, Zulfiye Dolu, Feyyaz Duman, Nazmi Kirik, Mehmet Ali Oz
THEMES:

Uzak (Distant)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2002, 110 mins.)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Muzaffer Ozdemir, Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Nazan Kirilmis, Feridun Koc, Fatma Ceylan
THEMES:

Bekleme odasi (The Waiting Room)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2003, 92 mins.)
Director: Zeki Demirkubuz
Cast: Zeki Demirkubuz, Nilufer Acikalin, Nurhayat Kavrak, Nilufer Acikalin, Serdar O rcin, Ufuk Bayraktar
THEMES: adaptation, Existentialism, men and women, artistic frustration, economics

The Waiting Room (Bekleme odasi) presents the story of a respected but frustrated filmmaker who is trying to adapt Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. This minimalist work--most of the action takes place in a quiet one-bedroom Istanbul apartment--is the third installment in director-screenwriter-actor Zeki Demirkubuz's "tales about darkness" trilogy. (See also Fate (Yazgi) and The Confession (Itiraf).) Here, Demirkubuz plays Ahmet, a compulsive liar and insomniac who destroys relationship after relationship as he struggles to cast the lead for his film. We watch this emotionless character wander about his apartment, talk with his assistant's boyfriend, lie to the police in the hope of locating an actor, and channel surf so much that the television becomes a member of the cast by the end of the film.
As much as this is a film about the darkness and solitude at the heart of artistic production, about the isolation necessary for artistic creation, and Existential crisis, it is also the story of an economically booming and rapidly urbanizing Turkey. Ahmet's predecessors certainly come from Dostoyevsky, Camus, Tolstoy, and their Existential heroes. Indeed, Demirkubuz's may be one of the best depictions of ennui on screen. At the same time, though, we might look elsewhere for Ahmet's cinematic antecedent, to the alienated, misogynistic Sandro in Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni's 1960 film L'avventura. Sandro is a frustrated architect turned business lackey whose failed relationships reflect the spiritual and moral emptiness of a booming Europe after the 1950s. (Sandro's relationships with Anna, Claudia, Gloria Perkins, and then Claudia again mirror Ahmet's relationships with Serap, Elif, and Sanem.)
After the downturn in the Turkish economy at the start of the Twenty-first century, the country has been experiencing its own "economic miracle," recalling il boom in Italy. This film reflects not only a Nineteenth century diseased spirit or a mid-Twentieth Century anomie but also the early Twenty-first century capitalist anxiety of a country now poised on the European Union's doorstep. --Brian Bergen-Aurand

Camur (Mud)*
(Turkey / Cyprus / Italy (Turkish), 2003, 97 mins.)
Director: Dervis Zaim
Cast: Taner Birsel, Yelda Reynaud, Mustafa Ugurlu
THEMES:

Gonderilmemis Mektuplar*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2003, 110 mins.)
Director: Yusuf Kurcenli
Cast: Turkan Soray, Aytac Arman, Baris Cakmak, Melike Demirag, Rojda Demirer, Kadir Inanir, Suna Selen
THEMES:

Insaat (Under Construction)*
(Turkey (Turkish), 2003, 113 mins.)
Director: Omer Vargi, Tolgay Ziyal
Cast: Emre Kinay, Sevket Coruh, Suna Pekuysal, Ahmet Mumtaz Taylan, Yesim Buber, Binnur Kaya, Tuncay Beyazit, Ali Yayli, Murat Bavli, Sehsuvar Aktas
THEMES:

Kucuk Ozgurluk/ Kleine Freiheit (A Little Bit of Freedom)
(Germany (German / Kurdish / Turkish), 2003, 100 mins.)
Director: Yuksel Yavuz
Cast: Cagdas Bozkurt, Necmettin Cobanoglu, Leroy Delmar, Sunay Girisken, Nazmi Kirik, Susanna Rozkosny
THEMES:

Devotion*
(2004)
Director: Cynthia Madansky
Cast:
THEMES:

Duvara Karsi (Head-On/ Against the Wall/ Gegen Die Wand)*
(Germany / Turkey (German / Turkish / English), 2004, 121 mins.)
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Birol Unel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Meltem Cumbul, Zarah McKenzie
THEMES:

G.O.R.A. A Space Movie*
(Turkey (English / Turkish), 2004, 127 mins.)
Director: Omer Faruk Sorak
Cast: Cem Yilmaz, Rasim Oztekin, Ozkan Ugur, Idil Firat, Safak Sezer, Ozge Ozberk
THEMES:

Vendetta Song*
(Canada (English), 2004, 45 mins)
Director: Eylem Kaftan
Cast:
THEMES:

Vizontele Tuuba*
(Turkey (Turkish / Dutch / English / French / German), 2004, 111 mins.)
Director: Yilmaz Erdogan
Cast: Yilmaz Erdogan, Tarik Akan, Demet Akbag, Deniz Akkaya, Caner Alkaya
THEMES:

Yazi Tura (Toss-Up)*
(Turkey / Greece (Turkish), 2004, 102 mins.)
Director: Ugur Yucel
Cast: Olgun Simsek, Kenan Imirzalioglu, Bahri Beyat, Engin Gunaydin, Teoman Kumbaracibasi
THEMES:

Anlat Istanbul (Istanbul Tales)
(Turkey (Turkish), 2005, 99 mins.)
Director: Umit Unal, Omur Atay, Kudret Sabanci, Yucel Yo, Selim Demirdelen, and Yucel Yolcu
Cast: Erdem Akakce, Azra Akin, Hilal Arslan, Erkan Can, Sevket Coruh, Altan Erkekli
THEMES:

Oyun (The Play)
(Turkey (Turkish), 2005, 70 mins.)
Director: Pelin Esmer
Cast:
THEMES:

Yolda
(Turkey/ Bulgaria (Turkish), 2005, 90 mins.)
Director: Erden Kiral
Cast: Yesim Buber, Onder Cakar, Halil Ergun, Israfil Kose, Serdar Orcin, Yelda Reynaud
THEMES:

2 Super Film Birden
(Turkey (Turkish), 2006,)
Director: Murat Seker
Cast: Tim Seyfi, Murat Akkoyunlu, Ugur Polat, Beste Bereket, Cahit Berkay
THEMES:

Bes Vakit
(Turkey (Turkish), 2006, 111 mins.)
Director: Reha Erdem
Cast: Taner Birsel, Sevinc Erbulak, Elit Iscan, Ali Bey Kayali, Bulent Yarar
THEMES:

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