East of the West - Competition 2017 / Taş / Turkey 2017
Emete would swear that the young man seeking refuge in her home is the son she lost long ago. But in her isolated, wasteland village it’s almost impossible to differentiate real hope from self-delusion. Especially since the only way to survive is to throw in with the collective myths and seek comfort in cold stone.
Over the centuries, the inhabitants of a remote village have created an intimate bond with the infertile soil, and their modest dwellings seem to merge into the ubiquitous stone and ruins. The old stone walls whisper secret wishes and wait for a miracle or at least a spark of hope. The walls confide their prayers to Emete, and soon afterward she reconnects with her missing son Hasan after an absence of years. Or does she merely succumb to strong desire and begin to see her son in the face of the stranger to whom she offers shelter? The sinister Officer, however, also arrives in the village bent on taking the runaway back, otherwise he’ll deprive the villagers of the one thing they hold dear – stone. Bordering on archetype, the story speaks in mysterious allusions, leaving the viewer – fascinated by a region whose forbidding nature is entwined with reassuring myths – to wander uncertainly through the meanders of blind faith, self-deception, and real hope.
Jakub Jiřiště
96 min / Black & white, DCP
International premiere
Director Orhan Eskiköy
/ Screenplay Orhan Eskiköy
/ Dir. of Photography Türksoy Gölebeyi
/ Editor Selda Taşkın
/ Art Director Veli Kahraman
/ Producer Orhan Eskiköy, Armağan Lale
/ Production Perişan Film
/ Cast Muhammet Uzuner, Jale Arıkan, Ahmet Varlı, Beste Kökdemir
/ Contact Perişan Film
Orhan Eskiköy (b. 1980, Istanbul) is not only a director but a producer as well. He became known to festival programmers with his very first feature-length movie, the co-directed documentary On the Way to School (2008). Focusing on a lonely Turkish teacher in a remote Kurdish village, the film received support from the Sundance Institute and the Jan Vrijman Fund. In addition to screening at top film festivals, it was a hit with Turkish audiences. His feature debut Voice of My Father (co-dir. Zeynel Doğan), which also unfolds in a Kurdish setting, was selected for the main competition at the 2012 Rotterdam International Film Festival and won several festival prizes. The Stone, the director’s second feature, received support from the Karlovy Vary IFF when it was selected for last year’s Works in Progress.
Perişan Film
Rasimpaşa Mah. Tayyareci Sami Sok. No: 20/7, 34716, Istanbul
Turkey
E-mail: [email protected]
Orhan Eskiköy
Film Director
Ahmet Varlı
Actor
Selda Taşkın
Film Editor
Jale Arıkan
Actress
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