Depending on who eventually gets the US rights should determine the theatrical release date, as the presence of Berry and Craig will most likely demand an awards consideration push. Erguven’s [*]English language debut is a passion project for the director, which may push this into a 2018 release if she’s not ready for the Fall festival cycle. [*] She was born in Ankara (Turkey) in 1978, and received her cosmopolitan education in France, Turkey and the United States. She is a film buff and studied filmmaking at La Fémis in Paris after finishing her higher education of Literature and African History in Johannesburg. Her short film for graduation, 'Bir Damla Su', which she starred in, was shown at the Cinéfondation of the Cannes Festival and won a Leopardo del Mañana Award at the Locarno Festival. After graduating from La Fémis, she starting preparing for her debut with a feature film set in South Central Los Angeles and the riots in 1992. The project, entitled 'Kings', was selected by 'Emergence', the Cinéfondation workshop, and by the Sundance Script Laboratory, although it is was beaten by 'Mustang', a film whose script was created by this Turkish director herself and Alice Winocour during the summer of 2012. Filmography. 2006: "Bir damla su" (short), "Mon trajet préféré" (short). 2015: "Mustang". (Catalogue Valladolid International Film Festival 2015)
Mavi Boncuk |
Oscar-nominated (Mustang) French-Turkish director Deniz Gamze Erguven’s English-language debut "Kings", set against the Los Angeies riots[1] and starring Halle Berry and Daniel Craig, could be ready in time, although it would be a fast turnaround from its announcement last Cannes. This has been a passion project for Ergüven for years, dating back to her graduation from the French Fémis film school. She almost made it as her debut, but instead put it on hold to focus on Mustang.
At first, Turkish-born, Paris-based director Deniz Gamze Erguven feared that she wouldn’t be able to make “Mustang,” simply because the material felt too close (the girls were inspired by one of her cousins back in Turkey). She actually started with an equal rowdy, but far less personal feature. Shortly after graduating from France’s La Femis film school, she traveled to Los Angeles to research the L.A. riots. She spoke to citizens, rode in police helicopters, and poured all she had into the script, which she called “Kings.” The project was invited to Cannes’ Cinefondation workshop, where she met future co-writer Alice Winocour, but baffled investors, who couldn’t understand why a French-Turkish helmer might be pitching such a story. “It was so obvious to me,” she says. “I was drawn to the tragedy, and the fact that it was five days in L.A. without laws.”
When the project cratered, Erguven’s confidence was shot. “I was ready to move to Australia and sell ice cream, and Alice was the one who lifted me back up when I was really flat on the ground,” she says. “She made me write 20 hours a day.” Miraculously, some of the more anarchic moments from “Kings” found their way into “Mustang”: The scene where the woman breaks the electrical transformer, for example, or throwing burning pots out the window came from “Kings.” “One reason I was attracted to the L.A. riots, there was an amazing amount of raw energy, and also being a very dark story with a lot of potential for comedy,” she says.
![]()
Erguven began working on the screenplay in 2004 and has spent years working with the South Central neighborhood. After the success of Mustang, Erguven was able to revisit the project and snagged Halle Berry and Daniel Craig in lead roles. -
At first, Turkish-born, Paris-based director Deniz Gamze Erguven feared that she wouldn’t be able to make “Mustang,” simply because the material felt too close (the girls were inspired by one of her cousins back in Turkey). She actually started with an equal rowdy, but far less personal feature. Shortly after graduating from France’s La Femis film school, she traveled to Los Angeles to research the L.A. riots. She spoke to citizens, rode in police helicopters, and poured all she had into the script, which she called “Kings.” The project was invited to Cannes’ Cinefondation workshop, where she met future co-writer Alice Winocour, but baffled investors, who couldn’t understand why a French-Turkish helmer might be pitching such a story. “It was so obvious to me,” she says. “I was drawn to the tragedy, and the fact that it was five days in L.A. without laws.”
When the project cratered, Erguven’s confidence was shot. “I was ready to move to Australia and sell ice cream, and Alice was the one who lifted me back up when I was really flat on the ground,” she says. “She made me write 20 hours a day.” Miraculously, some of the more anarchic moments from “Kings” found their way into “Mustang”: The scene where the woman breaks the electrical transformer, for example, or throwing burning pots out the window came from “Kings.” “One reason I was attracted to the L.A. riots, there was an amazing amount of raw energy, and also being a very dark story with a lot of potential for comedy,” she says.
China’s Bliss Media and Maven Pictures[2] have come on board to finance “Kings,” the independent drama set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Principle photography began on December 27, 2016 in Los Angeles. Filming lasted until mid February 2017.
The film has sold to the UK (Studiocanal), France (Ad Vitam), Italy (BIM), Spain (Vertigo)., Turkey (Fabula) and ex-Yugoslavia (Blitz). Charles Gillibert who produced Mustang as well as Olivier Assayas’s Personal Shopper was producing.
The film has sold to the UK (Studiocanal), France (Ad Vitam), Italy (BIM), Spain (Vertigo)., Turkey (Fabula) and ex-Yugoslavia (Blitz). Charles Gillibert who produced Mustang as well as Olivier Assayas’s Personal Shopper was producing.
[1] A South Central recluse helps a woman's working-class mother during the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles. Craig portrays the loner who lives in South Central Los Angeles and falls in love with Berry’s character. When the riots erupt, he will help Berry in protecting her children from the violence.