The moving debut feature film of Turkish-Swiss director Esen Isik had its world premiere at this year’s Zurich Film Festival. Esen Isik, who already won the prestigious “Quartz” in 2012 for Du&Ich, presented her debut feature film, Köpek[1], a glimpse at an Istanbul held prisoner by its own contradictions, at this year’s Zurich Film Festival. By portraying the everyday lives of three ‘marginal’ characters who fight to find love (or simply a glimmer of humanity) in a city that rejects them, Esen Isik paints us a portrait of an entire society that wants to be modern in spite of the preconceptions that risk choking it.
Mavi Boncuk |
Video 1
Video 2
original title: Köpek
Switzerland,Turkey | 2015 | fiction | 98'
directed | screenplay: Esen Isik
cast:Salih Bademci, Cemal Toktas, Hakan Karsak, Baris Atay
cinematography by: Gabriel Sandru
film editing: Aurora Vögeli
art director: Veli Kahraman
costumes designer: Melis Gamsizoglu
music: Marcel Vaid
producer:Brigitte Hofer, Cornelia Seitler
production: maximage GmbH
distributor: Cineworx Gmbh
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[1] Review | Köpek condenses three people’s destinies into just one day: there’s Cemo, a ten-year-old boy who sells tissues on the streets of the capital to help his family, Hayat, who’s married to an overly possessive man she feels no passion for, and Ebru, a Junoesque transsexual prostitute who is desired by all but abandoned by the only man she loves. Three ‘atypical’ characters who seem to roam across the surface of a hostile city that is impervious to diversity, unruffled by those weaknesses that make us human. What these three people have in common is their inability to fight their adverse, cruel destinies, built on deprivation and obligation. But in their hearts burns a need for love and recognition that they can hold back no longer. In a day that seems like any other, Cemo, Hayat and Ebru decide to rebel, with little consideration of the consequences, against a society that has rendered them invisible. With Köpek,Esen Isik turns the spotlight onto an uncomfortable reality, cast into the shadows so often that it has become one. Hers is a subtle yet brutal film that captures the small but significant steps of its three protagonists towards a utopian freedom. Köpek throws a different perspective over Istanbul, one which is sincere and cruel. It teaches us to recognise the small, almost invisible signs of necessary change. If society cannot protect a ten-year-old boy, it is he who will rescue an orphan puppy. If no one dares to fight for true love, a transsexual will. If only men are given the freedom to love, a woman will lay claim to it at the cost of her life. A strong debut film that faces up, without embellishment, to the injustices of a complex and paradoxical society. (Translated from Italian)
Synopsis | A day in the metropolis that is Istanbul and a look at three destinies: Cemo sells paper tissues on the streets in order to support his family. Today, the 10-year-old will finally pluck up the courage to speak to the girl he has long had a crush on. Hayat’s unwelcome marriage has lacked any form of passion since day one. When the first love of her life suddenly makes contact, she agrees to meet him in secret. Ebru works as a prostitute to make ends meet. This beautiful transsexual can attract any man she wants, but the man of her dreams will not stand by her. On this day, Cemo, Hayat and Ebru are prepared to do everything it takes to quench their desires. With an attentive eye on the poetry of day-to-day life, Esen Isik’s authentic debut feature film is a sensitive tale of love, violence and Turkish society at the beginning of the 21st century.
Mavi Boncuk |
Video 2
original title: Köpek
Switzerland,Turkey | 2015 | fiction | 98'
directed | screenplay: Esen Isik
cast:Salih Bademci, Cemal Toktas, Hakan Karsak, Baris Atay
cinematography by: Gabriel Sandru
film editing: Aurora Vögeli
art director: Veli Kahraman
costumes designer: Melis Gamsizoglu
music: Marcel Vaid
producer:Brigitte Hofer, Cornelia Seitler
production: maximage GmbH
distributor: Cineworx Gmbh
[1] Review | Köpek condenses three people’s destinies into just one day: there’s Cemo, a ten-year-old boy who sells tissues on the streets of the capital to help his family, Hayat, who’s married to an overly possessive man she feels no passion for, and Ebru, a Junoesque transsexual prostitute who is desired by all but abandoned by the only man she loves. Three ‘atypical’ characters who seem to roam across the surface of a hostile city that is impervious to diversity, unruffled by those weaknesses that make us human. What these three people have in common is their inability to fight their adverse, cruel destinies, built on deprivation and obligation. But in their hearts burns a need for love and recognition that they can hold back no longer. In a day that seems like any other, Cemo, Hayat and Ebru decide to rebel, with little consideration of the consequences, against a society that has rendered them invisible. With Köpek,Esen Isik turns the spotlight onto an uncomfortable reality, cast into the shadows so often that it has become one. Hers is a subtle yet brutal film that captures the small but significant steps of its three protagonists towards a utopian freedom. Köpek throws a different perspective over Istanbul, one which is sincere and cruel. It teaches us to recognise the small, almost invisible signs of necessary change. If society cannot protect a ten-year-old boy, it is he who will rescue an orphan puppy. If no one dares to fight for true love, a transsexual will. If only men are given the freedom to love, a woman will lay claim to it at the cost of her life. A strong debut film that faces up, without embellishment, to the injustices of a complex and paradoxical society. (Translated from Italian)
Synopsis | A day in the metropolis that is Istanbul and a look at three destinies: Cemo sells paper tissues on the streets in order to support his family. Today, the 10-year-old will finally pluck up the courage to speak to the girl he has long had a crush on. Hayat’s unwelcome marriage has lacked any form of passion since day one. When the first love of her life suddenly makes contact, she agrees to meet him in secret. Ebru works as a prostitute to make ends meet. This beautiful transsexual can attract any man she wants, but the man of her dreams will not stand by her. On this day, Cemo, Hayat and Ebru are prepared to do everything it takes to quench their desires. With an attentive eye on the poetry of day-to-day life, Esen Isik’s authentic debut feature film is a sensitive tale of love, violence and Turkish society at the beginning of the 21st century.