24 October 1895 | Le Petit Journal

January 17, 2014, 10:20 am

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24 October 1895 | Le Petit Journal [1]Front cover ottoman military/ Back cover Attaque d'une moschee par les Armeniens/ Armenians attack a mosque.
Source: Rear Admiral Deniz Kutluk, Assistant Director, Cooperation and Regional Security Division, NATO International Military Staff

Mavi Boncuk |

[1] Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper that appeared between 1863 and 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. As early as 1884, it 'Le Petit Journal' included a weekly illustrated supplement that appeared in a somewhat old-fashioned 19th century format. The back and front covers were printed in bold and eye-catching color, usually with prints or etchings of news-worthy events of the more sensationalist kind or patriotic allegories. The price was amazingly cheap and the print-run ran into more than a million copies for every issue. The inside pages consisted of text and at times pages of photographs or large-sized war maps.

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1895 | Zapçıoğlu Abraham, Edme Blacque and Mavroyeni Bey in DC

January 17, 2014, 1:22 pm

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Mavi Boncuk | First Ottoman diplomat (şehbender) to US 1845 Zapçıoğlu Abraham, followed by 1867 Edme Blacque (Bulak/Blak) Bey.


The Washington Post; Oct 11, 1895
Mavroyeni Bey, minister from Turkey, who has made such a reputation as a princely host at the northern resorts, has returned to Washington. Since the absence of the minister the legation of Turkey has been removed from Q to R street, a larger house being found necessary for the social requirements of the embassy.

[1]Aleksandros Mavroyeni or Mavroyeni Bey (1848-1929)

Read more: Ottoman Ambassadors to US

Lincold Diplomat to Ottoman Lands

January 17, 2014, 1:23 pm

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Document Signed, as President, partially-printed and accomplished in manuscript, 1 page, oblong folio, Washington, D.C., July 15, 1861; being the appointment of  Edward Joy Morris as Minister-Resident at Constantinople. Co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Transcript
Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States of America,

To Edward Joy Morris of Pennsylvania, Greeting:

Reposing special trust and confidence in your Integrity - Prudence and Ability, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint you, to be Minister-Resident of the United States of America at Constantinople; authorizing you hereby to do and perform all such matters and things as to the said place or office doth appertain as may be duly given you in charge hereafter, and the said office to hold and exercise during the pleasure of the President of the United States for the time being.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord 1861, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-sixth.

By the President ABRAHAM LINCOLN[1]

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State


[1]Lincoln was barely in office two months and the Civil War, barely on two weeks, when replacing the ambassador to the far-off Ottoman Empire became an especially urgent matter. The incumbent minister, left over from Buchanan's administration, was, after all, a Southerner - and busily engaged in urging the Porte to back the South. Secretary of War Simon Cameron - whose fiercest battles would seem to have been for patronage recommended, then, that Pennsylvania Representative Edward Joy Morris be Minister Resident to Constantinople, and Lincoln, no doubt glad to have at least one peaceful outcome, agreed. Morris was not, as these things went, an entirely bad choice. He had, most unusually, traveled throughout the Levant, and written about it. When there, in fact, some twenty years before, he had to his credit seen the need for an American Consul in Jerusalem, and it was at his urging one was appointed; that the one appointed, also at his urging, was the religious controversialist Warder Cresson, was perhaps a less laudable call. Nonetheless, as Minister-Resident to Turkey, Morris served well - and long: representing, over a course of nine years, Presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant.

Morris' ambassadorial activities extended all the way to the Holy Land  and, most especially, to the American missionaries who went there. But whereas in his 1842 book, Notes of a Tour through Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Arabia Petraa to the Holy Land, the missionaries were extolled as bold humanitarians whose devoted work brought honor to the name of their country in the farthest corners of the earth - when he was Minister, and the evangelists were the Adams Colony, they were pitiable ignorant wretches who, literally, needed saving, that they might not starve to death and "shame and disgrace... the American name." Indeed, of those poor souls who journeyed to Jaffa in order to hasten the Second Coming (by aiding the prerequisite restoration of the Jews to Palestine), he wondered that they should have left their own promising country for a "misgoverned, impoverished and semi-savage land, where no man's life is safe beyond the walls of the towns." The Holy Land missionaries of the 1860's served best as an admonitory lesson, he ultimately warned in a letter to the New York Times, to all who were disposed to undertake similar quests.

U.S. diplomatic Interaction with Turkey

January 17, 2014, 1:28 pm

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U.S. diplomatic interaction with Turkey dates back to the days when Turkey was known as the Ottoman Empire. After they established diplomatic relations in 1831, the states maintained a diplomatic relationship until U.S. entry into World War I on April 20, 1917. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire dissolved, and in its place arose the modern state of Turkey, with which the United States reestablished relations in 1927.

Recognition: Mutual Recognition, 1830.
The first formal act of diplomatic engagement and recognition between the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and the United States, both long established states, occurred on February 11, 1830, when a U.S. negotiating team comprised of Captain James Biddle, David Offley, and Charles Rhind presented their credentials to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs. Biddle, Offley, and Rhind negotiated a treaty of navigation and commerce between the United States and Turkey.

Diplomatic Relations
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and the American Legation in the Ottoman Empire, 1831.

Diplomatic relations and the American Legation at Constantinople (Istanbul) were established on September 13, 1831, when David Porter  presented his credentials as Charges d’Affaires.

Elevation of American Legation to Embassy Status, 1906.
The American Legation was elevated to Embassy status on June 18, 1906, when John G. A. Leishman presented his credentials as the Ambassador on October 5, 1906.

Diplomatic Relations Severed, 1917.
Turkey severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 20, 1917, after the United States declared war against Germany on April 4, 1917.

Diplomatic Relations Reestablished, 1927.
The United States and Turkey reestablished relations on February 17, 1927, after an exchange of notes in Angora, Turkey

Turkey and Worldwide Gas Prices

January 19, 2014, 8:43 am

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Mavi Boncuk |

Price per gallon of gasoline: $9.89 
Rank by most expensive gas: 1 
Rank by pain at the pump: 7 

 Turkey's $800 billion economy is the biggest in Eastern Europe, but the world's most expensive gas doesn't make driving easy for Turks. The average daily income is $30, and it takes a third of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas. So Turks don't buy much gas. The country's long history of poor tax compliance has been an obstacle to its development. About 40 percent of the country's workers are part of an informal economy that pays no taxes, according to the World Bank. Only about 4 percent of the total population pays personal income tax. In recent years Turkey has increased its revenue base through consumption taxes like a fuel tax, which is relatively easy to enforce. The country has one of the highest gas taxes, which accounts for more than half of the cost to fuel up.

Article | Disquiet in a Turkish Fishing Village

January 20, 2014, 9:28 am

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Mavi Boncuk | JANUARY 19, 2014 NEW YORKER

Article | Disquiet in a Turkish Fishing Village by Jenna Krajeski

Reporting for this piece was funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Photograph by Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg via Getty. 

Until a couple of years ago, Garipçe, a tiny village in metropolitan Istanbul, near the Black Sea, was known among Turks for being a retreat, a place that offered fresh fish beside a clean expanse of water but was still accessible by city bus. The village survives on fishing and light tourism; the latter slows in the winter, when cold wind blows off the water, through a narrow cove, and up the single paved street, sweeping Garipçe’s six hundred or so residents indoors. Visitors see romance in the quaint and ramshackle aspects of Garipçe, where many of the buildings lining the road are sunken and abandoned, their frames rotting in plain sight. But, for many year-round residents, life is hard. Fishermen scramble to afford technology that keeps them competitive; children are forced to commute to a neighboring village because the local primary school was demolished; women, in the religiously conservative village, complain about the lack of a community center where they can socialize.

READ MORE...

Profile | Edward Joy Morris (1815-1881)

January 20, 2014, 9:55 am

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Abraham Lincoln Appoints Edward Joy Morris an Arabist  as Minister to the Ottoman Empire - and By Extension, Palestine.

Mavi Boncuk |

I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to the envelope of a letter addressed to His Imperial Highness, the Sultan of Turkey, (Mr. E. Joy Morris' credence)[1] dated this day, and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant.  

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Washington, 12th June, 1861. 










[1] Edward Joy Morris (July 16, 1815 – October 31, 1881) was a Whig and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Morris was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

He attended the common schools and the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. He graduated from Harvard University in 1836, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842 and practiced in Philadelphia. 

He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1841 to 1843. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1844. He served as Chargé d'Affaires to Naples from January 20, 1850, to August 26, 1853. (In a book, he mentioned Petar II Petrović-Njegoš paying him a visit in Naples in 1851). He was a member of the board of directors of Girard College in Philadelphia, and again a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1856. Morris was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses and served until his resignation. 

He was appointed Minister Resident to Turkey and served from June 8, 1861, to October 25, 1870. He died in Philadelphia in 1881. Interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

1878 | Ulysses S. Grant in Constantinople

January 20, 2014, 10:13 am

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March 09, 1878 Ulysses S. Grant[1] Comments on the Refugees – Many, Bulgarian Jews – Who Have Fled to Constantinople Before Russian Invaders 

"General Grant's arrival in Constantinople had been fairly well timed, as it occurred but a few days after the treaty of San Stefano." 
John Russell Young, Around the World with General Grant (New York: American News Company, 1879), p. 346

Mavi Boncuk |Transcript
[in an unknown hand at top right: “Gen. Grant.]

Athens, Greece
March 9th, ‘78

My Dear General:

After a most pleasant visit up the Nile, back through the Suez Canal, then to Jeppa [Jaffa] and out to Jerusalem, up to Smyrna, and from there to Constantinople – where we spent five days – we have reached this city on our way to a different civilization. I found the authorities in Constantinople looking and feeling very gloomy, but the appearance of a successful foe immediately outside the gates of the city did not seem to effect the populace generally. But the sight is wretched enough.  In a small portion of the city is stowed away in the Mosques and public buildings, probably more than a hundred thousand refugees, men women and children who have fled to the capital before a conquering army. They are fed entirely by charity and mostly by foreigners. What is to become of them is sad to think of. Beside these many tens of thousands have been shipped to places in Asia Minor and turned loose upon the inhabitants. My reception however, not withstanding the surroundings was cordial. I was invited to an interview with the Sultan and to visit with his stable of blooded Arabian horses. After the interview when I retired the Sultan sent for the Turkish Admiral who had acted as interpreter who, on returning, said that “His Highness” wishes to present me with one of his best horses, and that he would send him to the ship the following day. I thanked him for his kindness but declined the proffer. When dining with the Minister of Marine after – at which the Cabinet and other officials were present – I learned that my declaration had not been communicated to the Sultan and was informed that he would feel very badly if his offer was declined. If the horse is sent – I hope he will not be – he will be sent to Marseilles, care of our Consul there. I shall not be back in Paris before May and I want to ask you if you will be kind enough, if the horse goes to Marseilles, to have him taken charge of and forwarded carefully to Gen. Fairchild, Consul at Liverpool. If you will pay all the charges until he reaches Liverpool – including any that may accrue in getting him to, and through, France please draw on me at sight, through Drexel Hayes & Co. I will write to Gen. Fairchild what to do with the horse if he reaches there. I have not written to the Consul at Marseilles about the matter. The horse will not be sent for two or three weeks if at all.

Please remember Mrs. Grant and myself kindly to Mrs. Torbet and believe me

Very Truly
Your obt. svt

U.S. GRANT

General A. Torbet
Consul Gen. of the U.S.
Paris, France

[1]Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877) following his success as military commander in the American Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military; the war, and secession, ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House. As president, Grant led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African American citizenship, and defeat the Ku Klux Klan. In foreign policy, Grant sought to increase American trade and influence, while remaining at peace with the world. Although his Republican Party split in 1872 as reformers denounced him, Grant was easily reelected. During his second term the country's economy was devastated by the Panic of 1873, while investigations exposed corruption scandals in the administration. The conservative white Southerners regained control of Southern state governments and Democrats took control of the federal House of Representatives. By the time Grant left the White House in 1877, his Reconstruction policies were being undone. 

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A PISTE D'UN CRIME D'ETAT TURC À PARIS RELANCÉE

January 20, 2014, 2:11 pm

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Mavi Boncuk |
A PISTE D'UN CRIME D'ETAT TURC À PARIS RELANCÉE

Jeudi 16 janvier 2014 à 12h00
Lemonde.fr | Par Guillaume Perrier

Les révélations se multiplient en Turquie, un an après l'assassinat de trois militantes kurdes, Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan et Leyla Söylemez, le 9 janvier 2013 à Paris, et renforcent un peu plus la thèse d'un agent infiltré, en service commandé pour l'Etat turc.

Depuis un an, après ce qui apparaissait dès le départ comme un crime politique, commis au moment où le gouvernement turc et le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) entamaient de périlleuses négociations, l'enquête semblait piétiner. Le tueur présumé, Ömer Güney, un jeune homme au profil mystérieux, continue de clamer son innocence.

Dimanche 12 janvier, premier coup de tonnerre, un enregistrement sonore était mis en ligne sur YouTube. Révélé par une personne affirmant être « un proche d'Ömer Güney », le document est une conversation de dix minutes entre un homme présenté comme Güney et deux de ses supérieurs hiérarchiques, qui seraient des officiers des services de renseignement turcs (MIT).

Les trois protagonistes y évoquent la « mission », passent en revue les cibles potentielles, citent même les noms de hauts responsables du mouvement kurde en Europe, détaillent le mode opératoire choisi, la fourniture d'armes et d'un téléphone crypté… Des précisions qui rendent crédible l'authenticité de cet enregistrement.

READ MORE...

1 of the 10 best free museums in Europe: Florence Nightingale Museum

January 22, 2014, 9:28 am

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Mavi Boncuk | 

1 of the 10 best free museums in Europe: Florence Nightingale Museum

Selimiye Barracks in Istanbul, where the Florence Nightingale museum is located.

This is not the most straightforward museum to visit – you've got to arrange an appointment by fax at least 48 hours in advance – but it's worth it for anyone fascinated by the Crimean War and the story of the lady with the lamp. The museum is within the Selimiye Army Barracks, built in 1799, which was the military hospital where Nightingale and her students developed the nursing techniques that saw her go down in medical history. Inside you can explore her personal living quarters, as well as the room that served as an operating theatre. Adding to the experience, which differs from the usual museum fare, is the fact that the guides are usually young soldiers on their military service. 

• To arrange a visit, fax the museum on +90 216 553 1009 or +90 216 310 7929 at least 48 hours in advance, stating the date and time of planned visit and including a photocopy of your passport

Source for the rest.

Book | Rise of Turkey by Soner Cagaptay

January 22, 2014, 11:22 am

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New Cagaptay Book Chronicles Turkey's Growth Washington Institute Expert Shows Country’s Evolutioninto Majority-Middle-Class, Muslim-Ruled Power

Rise of Turkey 


WASHINGTON -- As turmoil roils the ruling party of Recep Tayyep Erdogan, a new book by Washington Institute for Near East Policy expert Soner Cagaptay documents the Turkish prime minister’s efforts to transform his country from an economically disadvantaged secular state into the world’s first majority-middle-class, Muslim-ruled nation. The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty First Century’s First Muslim Power, published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, is now available online.

In this volume, Dr. Cagaptay, the Institute’s Beyer Family Fellow and the director of its Turkish Research Program, shows how Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) have expanded Turkey’s trade, diplomatic outreach, and cultural exports during an unprecedented ten years in power. The embattled premier has asserted Turkish influence in high-stakes, high-profile foreign issues from Gaza, to Egypt, to Syria, sometimes breaking ranks with NATO allies. Turkish citizens will be able to pass judgment on Erdogan’s tenure during local and national elections in March and June respectively.

Structured as a travelogue, each chapter of The Rise of Turkey opens on a different Turkish city and captures a theme of the country’s transformation. From the Kurdish issue to foreign policy, the book argues that Turkey needs to successfully balance its Muslim identity with its Western overlay in order to solidify its position as a regional and global power. The book also puts Turkey’s development into a broader, global context: How does Turkey’s success align with the rise of the BRICS nations? What lessons may be learned about Islam’s role in 21st century international politics?

The book has earned praise from foreign affairs experts of both U.S. political parties. “For anyone interested in the complex developments that are reshaping Turkey, Dr. Cagaptay’s insightful new book is the place to start,” says Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). “Dr. Cagaptay peels back the many layers that make Turkey such a fascinating and important country. With his deep understanding of Turkey, he is able to explore the political, cultural, and economic factors that have shaped its remarkable history and that may foreshadow its future,” says Joseph Lieberman, former senator from Connecticut.

A historian by training, Dr. Cagaptay wrote his doctoral dissertation at Yale University on Turkish nationalism. He has taught courses at Yale, Princeton University, Georgetown University, and Smith College on the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Eastern Europe. From 2006-2007, he was Ertegun Professor at Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies.

Soner Cagaptay’s work has been published in scholarly journals and major international print media such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been a regular columnist for CNN.com and Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s oldest and most influential English-language paper. He appears regularly on NPR, PBS, CNN and other international media.

About the Institute: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is an independent, nonpartisan research institution that advances a balanced and realistic understanding of U.S. interest in the broader Middle East. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.

CONTACT: Brittany Parker, 202-452-0650, press@washingtoninstitute.org. 

In Sickness & Health | Martin Raiser Interview

January 23, 2014, 7:34 am

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Mavi Boncuk |
In Sickness & Health
TBY talks to Martin Raiser[1], Country Director for Turkey at the World Bank, on key challenges for the Turkish economy, and target growth sectors.

THE BUSINESS YEAR What have been some of the World Bank’s most successful programs in Turkey in recent years?
MARTIN RAISER Our partnership with Turkey goes back many years; the first loan was extended in 1950, and since then we’ve been involved in a lot of different things. If you’re looking at things that stand out as successes, we’ve had a quite good run in the energy sector, including working with the regulator and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. We have supported the renewables sector and energy efficiency among industrial companies and SMEs with credit lines, and have worked with transmission company TEİAŞ to upgrade the backbone of the transmission system. Now we’re working on a smart grid project with TEİAŞ and our colleagues from IFC are doing their own part by supporting private power sector investments. If you put all of that together, you get an idea of how the Turkish energy market has developed over the years, and we’ve been there every step of the way. We also worked with Turkey on its health reforms, which were so successful in ensuring universal access to healthcare that we are now using the Turkish case as a model for other countries to learn from. We also supported Turkey more than a decade ago in its very successful banking reform and stabilization program and have assisted the development of the sector ever since through the provision of long-term financing. Of course, we don’t only do financing; we do a lot of analytical work and, perhaps, one of our most interesting and exciting projects in recent times has involved working together with the newly established Ministry of Family and Social Policies to get more women to work. This is a clear business matter. You could argue that Turkey is only flying with one and a half wings as only 30% of women participate in the labor force. This is against the average 53.02% in the OECD. Our estimates suggest that if you close the gap between male and female labor force participation, which countries like Sweden have done very successfully, then Turkey’s GDP alone, as a result of that measure, could increase by 30%. This is significant.

There has been significant growth in the Turkish economy over the last 10 years, but what are some of the key challenges that you see facing the Turkish economy in the short and medium term?
In the short term, emerging markets are facing the normalization of global monetary conditions. This isn’t happening at maybe quite the pace people thought in May 2013, but interest rates will certainly go up at some point in the US and quite possibly in the eurozone, too. And, for a country like Turkey, which is so reliant on external financing, high interest rates are likely to dampen growth prospects. In the short term, there is not much room for macroeconomic policy to support growth. Policy makers have to be a little careful about pressures on the exchange rate and on inflation and probably need to accept lower growth. But if Turkey uses this as an opportunity to tackle the underlying structural reasons as to why it is so reliant on international finance, it may actually be a good thing. The structural issues around the current account deficit are relatively independent of global economic conditions. Turkey doesn’t save enough; it needs to boost its competitiveness and attract more long-term financing, particularly FDI. Why does Turkey not save enough? There are a number of reasons for that and the government is dealing with some of them, particularly on the consumer side. But, on the corporate side, some Turkish companies, particularly SMEs, are not profitable enough to save. And that’s related to them being not that competitive. If you want to be more competitive, you need to upgrade technology, and for that you need to invest more, and for that you need to have access to long-term financing.

How can Turkey attract more FDI?
On the FDI side, Turkey is now ranked 69th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2014 report. Most of the high-income countries in the world, and several of Turkey’s high-middle-income competitors such as Malaysia, Mexico, and some of the countries in Eastern Europe, have done very well and rank much better than Turkey. Now, that is just one summary indicator, but it does suggest that Turkey has work to do to improve regulations and reduce bureaucracy; including making the courts work more efficiently so that more foreign investment comes in. If you want to upgrade technologically, you need people that have the skills to deal with modern technology. And there, Turkey has a huge catch up game to play by expanding the time people spend in education.

What sectors have potential for more growth?
I think Turkey has done well in medium-tech sectors like automobiles, machinery, and, to some extent, metals over the last 10 years, having increased the quality of these products and, as a result, increased its global market share considerably. What Turkey hasn’t been very successful at yet is leapfrogging from the current technological mix to a high-technology mix. If Turkey is going to realize the ambitions of the government’s Vision 2023 strategy, this is absolutely essential. The government has some incentive schemes that may be attractive, although we have yet to see how much strategic investment they will bring in. The government has also boosted its own R&D spending, and opportunities will arise from that, too. Given high food prices globally, there could also be a lot of opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness, especially in relation to improving yields, upgrading water usage efficiency, and improving domestic food processing to meet international standards, particularly in meat and dairy.

What are your expectations for growth?
Turkey is on the verge of moving into high-income status. Very few countries have actually have done this. Since the 1960s, only about two-dozen economies have managed it. One half of them are in Europe, and they benefited from what we call the European Convergence Machine. Turkey, in that sense, is part of Europe. In the short term, Turkey needs to moderate its growth ambitions simply because the international environment will force it to. However, if you take a five-year perspective or even beyond, I can possibly see Turkey growing at a rate of 5% a year if reforms are enacted now to strengthen its competitiveness. Indeed, Turkey has a few assets that are very much in its favor. First, it’s a very young country and it will still have a growing labor force until about 2040. In that regard, it still has quite a few demographic dividend years ahead. Turkey is also very well located. Here, you’re close to the largest integrated market; the EU. You’re also close to potentially very dynamic developments in the Middle East and Eurasia.

This article will be published in 'The Business Year: Turkey 2014'.

[1] Martin Raiser is the Country Director for Turkey at the World Bank. He has a PhD in Economics from the University of Kiel and degrees in Economics and Economics History from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. He has worked for the Kiel Institute of World Economics and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Since joining the World Bank in 2003, Raiser held positions as the Country Manager in Uzbekistan and Economic Advisor in Ukraine. In his most recent assignment, Raiser served as Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova from 2008 until January 2012.

Rotterdam IFF 2014 I'm Not Him | Ben o degilim

January 23, 2014, 10:04 am

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Mavi Boncuk |

I'm Not Him  | Ben o degilim

Who would want to pose as someone else? When dishwasher Nihat has an affair with colleague Ayse, he discovers he looks uncannily like her husband, a dangerous criminal serving time. Gradually a threatening game of doppelgangers unfolds.

Nihat is a restaurant cleaner and leads the trivial life of a bachelor, in which regular outings with his friends and a prostitute are the sole, sad highlights. Until, that is, he starts an affair with his new colleague Ayse, an attractive young woman whose husband is serving ten years in prison. Nihat (Ercan Kesal, who played the lead in Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) discovers he looks uncannily like her husband, and in her new relationship Ayse grasps the opportunity to do everything she never used to be able to with him.

However, a dramatic event changes the curious idyll in which Nihat gradually adopts the identity and appearance of his criminal double, with due consequence.
The story, loosely based on Hitchcock's Vertigo, is presented in a cool, slightly absurdist way using calm, carefully framed and styled shots, and minimal, yet spot-on dialogue.

Turkey, Greece, France 2013
DirectorTayfun Pirselimoglu
ProducerNikos Moustakas | Bad Crowd
SalesRAMONDAParis
Print sourceBad Crowd
ScenarioTayfun Pirselimoglu
CastErcan Kesal
 Maryam Zaree
 Riza Akin
 Mehmet Avci
 Nihat Alptekin
PhotographyAndreas Sinanos
EditorAli Aga
Production designNatali Yeres
Sound designFrédéric Théry
MusicGiorgos Koumendakis
Length127'
Film formatDCP
Websitewww.benodegilim.com

Tayfun PIRSELIMOGLU was born in Trabzon, Turkey. He graduated from the Middle East Technical University and studied painting at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna . His work has been exhibited in various major cities. He also writes books and scripts, as well as teaching scriptwriting, cinema and painting.

Dayim (2000, short), In Nowhere Land (2002), Riza (2007), Haze (2010), Hair (2010), I’m Not Him (2013)

Gabriele Mandel | Mamma li Turchi

January 27, 2014, 11:06 am

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Mamma li turchi : L'altra faccia della Mezzaluna [1]  | Anneciğim Türkler Geliyor! Hilalin Öteki Yüzü Author: Gabriele Mandel Publisher: Bergamo : Lucchetti Editore, 1990.  ISBN: 9788885839557

[1] Mamma li Turchi! ("Oh mother, the Turks are coming!") is one of the most used Italian phrase to suggest an imminent danger, as when the Ottoman Turks threatened Europe

bestemmia come un Turco ("he swears like a Turk")

Fumare come un Turco ("To smoke like a Turk") is a phrase that describes a person who smokes a lot.

Mavi Boncuk |
Gabriele Mandel (February 12, 1924 in Bologna - July 1, 2010 in Milan) was an Italian psychologist, writer, and artist of Afghan descent. He was also known by the names of Gabriele Mandel Khān and Gabriele Sugana. He was also a Sufi guide (shaikh) in the Jerrahi Order.

Mandel was the son of the Sufi and historian Jusuf Roberto Mandel (of Turco-Afghan descent) and of the Jewish Writer Carlotta Rimini. His godfather was the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio. A Muslim, Mandel promoted interfaith dialogue and peace-building throughout his life.
In his youth Mandel studied music at the Conservatory of Vicenza, graduating in violin and harmony. After WWII (during which, along with his father, he was imprisoned and tortured by Nazis) he studied classical languages and literature and did extensive archaeological field research in India and in the Middle East, which he subsequently published. Later he developed scientific interests and graduated first in psychology and then as a medical doctor at the Faculty of Medicine of Pavia.

After the training he began working as a psychotherapist, an activity that he continued during his life, in parallel with that of ceramist and writer. He wrote nearly two hundred books –many of which were translated into several languages- on subjects ranging from art history and calligraphy to Sufism. His ceramics have been exhibited throughout the world.

Mandel taught psychology and art history in various faculties in Italy, France, and Belgium. Also, among his multifaceted activities was journalism, which he began in 1939, writing Sufi novels for Corriere dei Piccoli, a youth-oriented supplement of the magazine Corriere della Sera.

Like his Afghan uncle, Keki Efendi Khan-i Rud Hetimandel, Mandel was attracted to Sufism (Islamic mysticism). Mandel was a pupil of Si Hamza Boubakeur (rector of the Paris Mosque, d. 1995), a Naqshbandi. Later he joined the Khalwati (sub-Order: Jerrahi) Sufi Order and became its deputy (khalifa) in Italy, leading the Tekke in Milan until his death. Mandel translated the Qur’an into Italian with an extensive Sufi commentary and edited an Italian translation of the Mathnawi, which was translated into Italian by his wife.

He was married to Carla Nûr Cerati Mandel. His body rests in the Muslim section of the cemetery of Bruzzano in Milan.

He was the author of some 200 books published by major Italian presses (Rizzoli, Mondadori, Rusconi, Longanesi, Edizioni San Paolo, Franco Maria Ricci, Bompiani, etc.), many of which have been translated into several languages, including English. 

Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) on 17 November 1975. 

The Amphitheater 4 of the Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey was named "Prof. Dr. Gabriel Mandel Khan" on 3 May 2010.

Book | Les Chiens d’Istanbul by Catherine Pinguet published in Turkish

January 27, 2014, 11:37 am

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Mavi Boncuk |Les Chiens d’Istanbul, éditions Bleu Autour, Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, mai 2008. Traduit en turc, à paraître en 2009 aux éditions Yapı Kredi, Istanbul.

Catherine Pinguet

Chercheur associée, UMR 8032, Etudes turques et ottomanes, CNRS.

Adresse : 4, rue Vicq d’Azir 75010 Paris

Email : pinguetca@wanadoo.fr

Docteur ès lettres, Paris 7 (Jussieu), département des « Sciences des textes et documents », thèse sur Jean Genet et les Palestiniens, 1996. Enseigne dans différentes universités turques (Istanbul) : maître de conférences dans le département anglophone d’histoire, à l’université Yeditepe (1998-2004) ; poste à mi-temps dans le département francophone de civilisation européenne, à l’université Koç (2000-2001) et lectrice à l’université Yıldız, département français de traduction et d’interprétation (1999-2001). Travaux et enseignement portent alors essentiellement sur les littératures comparées, les traditions orales et l’histoire des religions. Premier essai, La Folle sagesse, consacré aux folies divines en terre d’Orient et à la littérature populaire. Second essai sur les chiens des rues d’Istanbul, récit d’une cohabitation urbaine homme/animal du 19e siècle à nos jours. Des travaux portent ensuite sur le statut littéraire du témoignage et les différentes formes de dénis historiques (publiés dans Chimères, revue créée par Gilles Deleuze). Dix années de recherches et d’enquêtes de terrain consacrées à la poésie des aşık alévis, publiées sous forme d’articles et d’un livre à paraître en juin 2009. Travaille actuellement plus spécifiquement sur l’histoire des îles des Princes, notamment sur les minoritaires rum, arméniens et juifs. Commande des éditions Koutoubia pour un livre sur Abdullah Frères, photographes arméniens à la fin de l’Empire ottoman.

Terrains et aires géographiques

Turquie : plateaux du Taurus (Tekke Köyü et les environs), Istanbul, îles des Princes.

Thèmes et projets de recherche

• Littératures populaires et mystiques turques : répertoire (chants sacrés et profanes), performances et pratiques religieuses (cérémonies, pèlerinages) et croyances (syncrétisme des alévis et des bektachis).
• Littérature et politique : étudier et interpréter l’importance croissante du témoignage en littérature et l’écriture de l’histoire, les différentes formes de dénis que ces témoignages ont suscitées et leur violence critique.
• Ecrire et penser l’animal : évolution des discours et des représentations de l’animal. Recherches pluridisciplinaires sur les rapports homme/animal.
• Histoire d’un archipel (les îles des Princes) de l’Empire byzantin à nos jours. Les insulaires d’alors et d’aujourd’hui, notamment les minoritaires.

Bibliographie

Livres

Les îles d’Istanbul, récit en cours.

Abdullah Frères, éditions Koutoubia, Paris, à paraître en septembre 2009. Une exposition, organisée par Erick Bonnier, sera également consacrée aux photographes arméniens à la fin de l’Empire ottoman.

La Voie est une, mille les chemins – Rencontre avec les bardes anatoliens, éditions Koutoubia, Paris, à paraître en juin 2009.

Les Chiens d’Istanbul, éditions Bleu Autour, Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, mai 2008. Traduit en turc, à paraître en 2009 aux éditions Yapı Kredi, Istanbul.

La Folle sagesse, éditions du Cerf, collection « patrimoine », Paris, novembre 2005. Prix à la création littéraire de l’Académie française, en novembre 2006.

Ouvrages collectifs

Istanbul, sous la direction de Nicolas Monceau, éditions Laffont, collection « Bouquins », à paraître en 2009. Article intitulé, « Les îles. Neuf points sur la carte », et 12 entrées de dictionnaire (Alevi – Balat – Chats – Chiens des rues – Croisades – Derviches tourneurs – Iles des Princes – Janissaires – Pont de Galata – Saint Georges – Tekke – Trotsky).

La Turquie spirituelle, sous la direction d’Alberto Fabio Ambrosio, éditions du Cerf, à paraître en 2009. Article sur la spiritualité communautaire des alévis.

Animals and People in the Ottoman Empire, sous la direction de Suraiya Faroqhi, à paraître aux éditions Eren, « Istanbul’s street dogs at the end of the Ottoman Empire : between will of extermination and desire of protection ».

Articles

« Street Dogs of Istanbul. Account of a shared city life », Revue d’Istanbul Research Centre, à paraître, début 2009.

“Chiens errants, d’Istanbul et d’ailleurs”, Pdergisi, Istanbul, numéro consacré aux chiens dans l’art, automne 2008.

« Il était une fois, il n’est plus – Quand tradition orale rime avec renouveau poétique », Poésie des Suds et des Orients, sous la direction de Marc Kober, L’Harmattan, coll. « Itinéraires et contacts des cultures », juin 2008, p. 157-170.

« Ecritures contemporaines du bestiaire chrétien », Ecrire l’animal aujourd’hui, Presses universitaires Blaise Pascal et London Metropolitan University 2006, p. 221-234.

« Chiens dits ‘éboueurs’ : le cas d’Istanbul », revue Ethnozootechnie, sous la direction de Jean-Pierre Digard, n°78, 2006, p. 163-168.

« La littérature de la bombe : silences et dénis », revue Chimères, n°62, automne 2006, p. 89-118.

« L’exhibition de l’Autre dans la construction de l’identité européenne : le ‘zoo humain’ et ses avatars », revue Cogito, Istanbul : éditions Yapı Kredi, août 2005, p. 73-103.

« Chiens d’Istanbul : entre mythe et réalité », revue Cogito, Istanbul : éditions Yapı Kredi, août 2005, p. 122-142.

« Remarques sur la poésie de Kaygusuz Abdal », Turcica, tome 34, éditions Peeters, 2002, p. 13-38.

« Abdal Musa », traduction de l’article de F. Köprülü, introduit et annoté, Journal de l’Histoire du Soufisme, Paris : Jean Maisonneuve, vol. 3, 2000-2001, p. 325-347.

« La poésie alévie contemporaine : travail de mémoire et histoire du temps présent », Journal de l’Histoire du Soufisme, Paris : Jean Maisonneuve, vol. 3, 2000-2001, p. 299-316.

« Un Captif amoureux de Jean Genet : le rapport à l’histoire à travers le récit d’un ancien officier arabe de l’armée ottomane », Ankara : revue Littera, juin 2001, p. 177-193.

« Traduire la poésie populaire et mystique turque : difficultés et enjeux », Journal asiatique, tome 286, 1998, p. 389-408.

« Mourir en un temps bref ou chanter pour l’éternité – Jean Genet politique », Lignes, Paris : éditions Hazan, n°19, mai 1993, p. 98-110.

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Berlinale 2014 | The Blue Wave

January 28, 2014, 11:30 am

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Mavi Boncuk |Generation 14plus
Mavi Dalga | The Blue Wave

Dir: Zeynep Dadak, Merve Kayan
Turkey / Germany / Netherlands / Greece 2013, 97 min, Turkish

Whenever Deniz and her girlfriends get together, nothing can threaten their world. They gossip about clothes, boys, music and who met who. Deniz really likes her schoolmate Kaya, but she’s much more excited by the thought of one of her teachers, Fırat, who is significantly older. The fact that he doesn’t appear to reciprocate her feelings plunges Deniz into turmoil. The girls will soon have to decide what they want to study and which university to attend. Deniz has a particular subject in mind: she feels much more drawn to philosophy than economics. But she’s also interested in studying something practical, such as reforestation. Although most of her friends want to go to Istanbul, she’d rather study in Ankara – the main thing is to get away from home where she’s at loggerheads with her mother.
The film makes use of its strong young female cast to convey the multifaceted, contradictory feeling of being on the cusp between one’s youth and an uncertain future. Regular power cuts and gas shortages seem to herald a sense of impending insecurity. Deniz knows just how good it feels to let herself go once more with her girlfriends at the beach.


Türkei/Deutschland/Niederlande/
Griechenland 2013
97 Min. · DCP, 1:1.85 · Farbe
Regie, Buch Zeynep Dadak, Merve Kayan
Kamera Daniël Bouquet
Schnitt Çiçek Kahraman
Musik kim ki o 
Sound Design Kostas Varibopiotis
Ton Jeffrey Grieshober
Production Design Nadide Argun
Kostüm Aslı Dadak
Maske Ebru Süren
Casting Ezgi Baltaş
Regieassistenz Ulaş Parlakyıldız
Produktionsleitung Zümrüt Burul, 
Kaan Kurbanoğlu
Produzent Yamaç Okur
Co-Produzenten Floor Onrust, 
Michael Eckelt, Nikos Moutselos, 
Zeynep Dadak, Merve Kayan
Co-Produktion Family Affair Films, 
Amsterdam; Riva Film, Hamburg; Two Thirty 
Five, Athen
Darsteller
Ayris Alptekin (Deniz)
Onur Saylak (Fırat)
Barış Hacıhan (Kaya)
Albina Özden (Esra)
Nazlı Bulum (Gül)
Begüm Akkaya (Perin)
Sefa Tokgöz (Güney)
Fehime Seven (Aylin)
Derya Durmaz (Nevin)
Cüneyt Yalaz (Yusuf)
Sude Aslantaş (Defne)
Produktion
Bulut Film
Istanbul, Türkei
+90 212 2839792
info@bulutfilm.com
Weltvertrieb
siehe Produktion

Zeynep Dadak Born in Balıkesir, Turkey, she is currently studying for a doctorate in the Cinema Studies Department at New York University and also working as a film journalist. Since 2001 she has made a number of short films, music videos and documentaries.
Filmography | Zeynep Dadak 
2001 Use Your Head; Kurzfilm 
2004 The Roundtrip; Kurzfilm 
2007 For the Record: World Tribunal on Iraq; Dokumentarfilm 
2010 On the Coast; Dokumentarfilm · Elope; Kurz-Musical 
2013 Mavi Dalga

Merve Kayan Born in Uzunköprü in Turkey in 1981, after attending a boarding school in Istanbul she moved to the USA to study film at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Since 1999 she has been collaborating with various filmmakers and artists making short films and videos, also working as a freelance video 
producer in New York and Istanbul. 

Filmography | Merve Kayan 
2005 Sweet Splits; 
Video-Installation 
2006 Ah; Kurzfilm 
2008 Work; Video-Installation 
2010 On the Coast; 
Dokumentarfilm · Elope; Kurz-Musical 
2013 Mavi Dalga

Berlinale 2014 | Come to My Voice

January 28, 2014, 11:53 am

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Mavi Boncuk |
Generation Kplus Were Dengê Min | Come to My Voice Folge meiner Stimme (AT) Dir: Hüseyin Karabey
Turkey / Germany / France 2013, 105 min | Kurdish, Turkish
age recommendation: 12 years and up

In a remote Kurdish village in the mountains little Jiyan is worried about her father who has been arrested by the Turkish police as a suspected guerilla. He will only be released when his family surrenders his gun. The problem is: he has never possessed one. And so Jiyan’s grandmother Berfé has no choice but to set off in search of a weapon. A long march on foot leads Berfé and Jiyan through breathtakingly beautiful mountains to their relatives and beyond, into the unknown. On their journey Berfé displays courage and tenacity and Jiyan learns what it takes to survive in the adult world. With remarkable serenity the film depicts a life in which being subjected to sanctions and humiliating controls is almost a daily occurrence. Yet warmth and quiet humour also pervades this intricate odyssey. Grandmother and grandchild meet traditional storytellers and become a part of their narratives as well as themselves contributing to the poetic weave of this multi-layered film.

Türkei/Deutschland/Frankreich 2013
105 Min. · DCP, 1:1.85 · Farbe
Regie Hüseyin Karabey
Buch Hüseyin Karabey, Abidin Parıltı
Kamera Anne Misselwitz
Schnitt Baptiste Gacoin
Musik Ali Tekbaş, Serhat Bostancı, 
A. İmran Erin
Sound Design Gregor Arnold
Kostüm Filiz Karaldi
Casting Ezgi Baltaş
Regieassistenz Barış Hancioğullari
Produktionsleitung Reşat Ayaz, Ro 
(Apo) Oğuz
Produzenten Hüseyin Karabey, 
Emre Yeksan
Co-Produzenten Alexander Ris, 
Elie Meirovitz, Elia Meirovitz, Frank Evers, 
Helge Neubronner, Andreas Eicher, 
Anne-Christina Herbst
Co-Produktion Cine Plus Filmproduktion, 
Berlin
Darsteller
Feride Gezer (Berfé)
Melek Ülger (Jiyan)
Tuncay Akdemir (Temo)
Muhsin Tokçu (Geschichtenerzähler)
Ali Tekbaş (Mendo)
Kadir İlter (Ruhat)
S. Emrah Özdemir (Leutnant Halil)
Nazmi Sinan Mıhçı (Kommandeur)
Murat Çatalbaş (Soldat Osman)
Produktion
Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion
Leipzig, Deutschland
+49 341 3037224
leipzig.office@mediopolis-online.de
EZ Films
Paris, Frankreich
+33 953 698094
elie@ez-films.com
ASI Film
Istanbul, Türkei
+90 21 22253944
emre@yeksan.com
Weltvertrieb
EZ Films
Paris, Frankreich
+33 953 698094
elie@ez-films.com


Born in Istanbul in 1970, he studied film 
at Marmara University in Istanbul. His 
documentaries are influenced by the 
democracy movement of the 1990s. His 
feature film debut GITMEK – MY MARLON 
AND BRANDO screened at the Rotterdam 
International Film Festival. He is also one 
of the directors of the portmanteau film 
UNUTMA BENI ISTANBUL (DO NOT FORGET 
ME ISTANBUL).

Filmography

1999 Boran; Kurzfilm 2001 
Sessiz Ölüm (Silent Death) 2004 Pina ile 
Bir Nefes (Pina Bausch, Istanbul, „Breath“); 
Dokumentarfilm 2008 Gitmek: Benim 
Marlon ve Brandom (Gitmek: My Marlon and 
Brando) 2010 Hiç Bir Karanlık Unutturamaz 
(No Darkness Can Make Us Forget); 
Kurz-Animationsfilm 2011 Unutma Beni 
İstanbul (Do Not Forget Me Istanbul) 2012 Bir 
Hayatı Masal gibi Anlatmak (Life as a Fabel a 
Narrative); Kurz-Dokumentarfilm 2013 Were 
Dengê Min (Come to My Voice)

Berlinale 2014 | Seaburners

January 28, 2014, 12:35 pm

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Mavi Boncuk |Forum
Kumun tadi | Seaburners Dir: Melisa Önel
Turkey 2014, 89 min | Turkish, English 

See Trailer 

A harsh wintery scene on the Turkish Black Sea coast. Denise, a foreign botanist, has ended up here for research purposes. She stoically trudges through water knee-deep to get to the remote site where she cultivates her plants. With the same resolve and fearlessness, she also makes her way through the night to the secluded cabin where she meets her lover Hamit. He is a have-not who has only remained in this desolate region following a failed attempt to set up a livelihood abroad. And because of his relationship with Denise. It’s a dilemma, since Hamit cannot let her know that he works as a human trafficker, making a living by helping others flee to Europe. But Denise is tired of his mysterious behaviour. When she is called back to her home country and one of Hamit’s jobs spirals out of control, he makes a decision that ends in catastrophe.

Rich in ellipses and pointedly non-linear, Melisa Önel’s poignant debut film leaves much literally in the dark. Its striking, sombre images correspond to a world of little hope or solidarity, in which a state of inner displacement prevails.

Türkei 2014
89 Min. · DCP, 1:1.85 · Farbe
Regie, Buch Melisa Önel
Buch Feride Çiçekoğlu
Kamera Julian Atanassov, Meryem Yavuz
Schnitt Özcan Vardar
Musik Erdem Helvacioglu
Sound Design Umut Senyol
Ton Petar Kralev, Fatih Aydogdu
Production Design Ismail Durmaz
Kostüm Yunus Harani
Produzenten Yamaç Okur, Bulut Film, 
Asli Erdem, Bulut Film
Co-Produzent M. Çagatay Tosun, Yedi Film
Darsteller
Mira Furlan (Denise)
Timuçin Esen (Hamit)
Ahmet Rifat Sungar (Mehmet)
Sanem Öge (Basima)
Uzunyilmaz Ali (Mustafa)
Edanur Tekin (Sonya)
Hakan Karsak (Fehmi)
Selen Uçer (Selda)
Produktion
Bulut Film
Istanbul, Türkei
+90 212 2839792
info@bulutfilm.com
Yedi Film
Istanbul, Türkei
info@yedifilm.com.tr

Born in Izmir, Turkey in 1980. She studied 
international relations at Tufts University, and 
film studies at Istanbul’s Bilgi University. She 
took part in the 2008 Berlinale Talent Campus. 
She works as a director and photographer.

Filmography 
2007 Omega Fox; 14 Min. 
2009 
Me and Nuri Bala; 43 Min. 
2014 Kumun tadı / Seaburners

Berlinale 2014 | The Lamb

January 28, 2014, 12:46 pm

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Mavi Boncuk |

 Panorama Special Kuzu | The Lamb Turkey / Germany 2014, 87 min | Turkish Dir: Kutlug Ataman

A village in the highlands of eastern Anatolia. As is required by age-old tradition, families here celebrate circumcision with a feast. Little Mert is to undergo the procedure but his father İsmail has no money to pay for the feast. His mother Medine ekes out a meagre living collecting willow rods. Nobody is willing to give them the lamb that must be served to their guests. Mert’s sister terrifies her brother by explaining that, should their father fail to find a lamb, he will have to slaughter his own son … Fifteen years after his Berlinale success with Lola und Bilidikid, director Kutluğ Ataman returns to the Panorama to depict village life in one of Turkey’s poorest communities. The film displays great affection for its protagonists, illuminating both the frightened child’s emotional turmoil as well as the bumbling efforts of his father who is completely overwhelmed by the weight of his responsibility. The mother finally hitting upon a solution which paves the way for her future and that of her children constitutes just one of the surprising twists in a film in which the wintry Anatolian landscape plays a particularly atmospheric role.

Türkei/Deutschland 2014
87 Min. · DCP · Farbe
Regie, Buch Kutluğ Ataman
Kamera Feza Çaldıran
Schnitt Ali Aga
Musik Can Erdoğan
Sound Design Cenker Kökten, 
Benedikt Gaussling
Ton Sonat Hançer
Production Design Esra Çetinkanat
Kostüm Hande Ocak
Maske Nurcan Tarakçı Kılıç
Casting Ezgi Baltaş
Regieassistenz Irmak Çengel
Produktionsleitung Sercan Tevs
Produzenten Kutluğ Ataman, 
Fabian Gasmia, Henning Kamm
Ausführende Produzenten Salih Karaman, 
Martin Fryer, Catharina Schreckenberg
Darsteller
Nesrin Cavadzade (Medine)
Cahit Gök (İsmail)
Mert Taştan (Mert)
Sıla Lara Cantürk (Vicdan)
Nursel Köse (Safiye)
Necmettin Çobanoğlu (Haydar Ağa)
Emel Göksu (Şefkat)
Güven Kıraç (Muhtar)
Taner Birsel (Adnan Bey)
Şerif Sezer (Leyla)
Produktion
Institute for the Readjustment of Clocks
Istanbul, Türkei
Detailfilm
Hamburg, Deutschland
+49 40 60940944
info@detailfilm.de
Weltvertrieb
noch offen

Born in Istanbul in 1961, he studied film at the University of California in Los Angeles and at the Sorbonne in Paris. His first feature,SERPENT’S TALE (1994), brought him rapid acclaim, winning him prizes in Istanbul and Ankara for best film, screenplay and director. Besides narrative cinema, Ataman also creates film installations which have been shown among other venues at the 2002 documenta 11 in Kassel. He was a guest of the Berlinale Panorama in 1999 with LOLA + BILIDIKID. KUZU marks his fifth feature film.
Filmography
94 Karanlık Sular 
1998 Lola + 
Bilidikid; IFB: Panorama 
2005 2 Genç Kız 
2009 Aya Seyahat 

2014 Kuzu

Berlinale 2014 | Agri and the Mountain

January 28, 2014, 12:57 pm

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Mavi Boncuk |Generation Kplus Short Film
Agri ve Dag | Agri and the Mountain | Agri und der Berg Dir:Hasan Serin Turkey 2013, 14 min Kurdish, Turkish
age recommendation: 9 years and up

A remote village somewhere in the mountains of Turkey. It’s sunny and the wind whistles between the humble dwellings. Two men shovel snow off a roof. A third slowly leads a donkey and another carries a bundle of hay on his back. Women are kneading dough for flatbread. There’s not a car or road in sight. This village is home to Rojda. Early in the morning she gets ready for school, pulling a traditional dress over her modern jeans. Before she leaves, she lights a fire in the oven and makes the beds, just as her mother has instructed her. The wintry landscape is stunningly beautiful but her journey through the snow is long and difficult. Later, Rojda returns home exhausted. She longs to sleep. But grandfather wants his tea. This is what everyday life is like for a child in a place where the clocks seem to have stopped a century ago.
Türkei 2013
14 Min. · DCP, 1:1.78 (16:9) · Farbe
Regie, Buch Hasan Serin
Kamera Umut Can Sevindik
Schnitt Hasan Serin
Sound Design Candas Erdener
Regieassistenz Caner Bayram
Produzent Hasan Serin
Co-Produzentin Armağan Lale
Co-Produktion Filmada, Istanbul
Darsteller
Roja-Şevval Sarıhan (Rojda)
Hanife Sarıhan (Mutter)
Hatun Arıkboğa (Großmutter)
Emir Arıkboğa (Großvater)
Produktion
Alternatiffilm
Istanbul, Türkei
+90 533 3902015
serinhasanserin@gmail.com
Weltvertrieb
noch offen

Born in Kığı in Turkey in 1984, after living abroad for many years with his family, he returned to Turkey and studied film at Yeditepe University in Istanbul whilst working on a number of short film projects.
Filmography 
Kurzfilme: 
2009 Yalın (Plain) 
2010 Bir Gün (One Day)
2013 Ağrı ve Dağ (Ağrı and the Mountain)