The 2th
SEATTLE TURKISH FILM FESTIVAL
STFF 2014
The 2nd Annual Seattle Turkish Film Festival returned November 20 - November 23, 2014 with the best in contemporary cinema from all over the Turkish-speaking world. The festival featured 10 films as well as its first Short Film Competition Session.
Films of note included Whisper, If I Forget by director Çagan Irmak, a story about a young girl who runs away to Istanbul to become a pop star and returns later in life to face those she left behind, as well as Nobody’s Home by Deniz Akçay about a family torn apart by the death of their patriarch.
STFF 2014 OPENING GALA PICTURES
OPENING FILM | WHISPER IF I FORGET / UNUTURSAM FISILDA
Thusday Nov 20 8:00 PM at AMC Pacific Place 11
An old pop singer who has Alzheimer's returns to her old house where she remembers her old days of climbing the stairs of fame and fortune while trying to deal with her older sister who holds her responsible for her ruined life.
Director: Cagan Irmak
Screenwriter: Cagan Irmak
Stars: Farah Zeynep Abdullah, Mehmet Günsür, Kerem Bursin
Genre: Drama, Family, Music
ARE WE OK? / TAMAM MIYIZ?
Friday Nov 21 7:00 PM at SIFF Film Center
The key to the puzzle of forlorn sculpture Tammuz's life and reality of his dreams lies within Ihsan who is a young boy with tetra-amelia syndrome.
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Director: Çagan Irmak
Screenwriter: Çagan Irmak
Stars: Aras Bulut İynemli, Deniz Celiloğlu, Aslı Enver
Genre: Drama
MY CHILD / BENÄ°M ÇOCUÄžUM
Friday Nov 21 9:00 PM at SIFF Cinema Uptown
What happens when your child comes out to you? In this feature documentary, parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender individuals in Turkey intimately share their experiences with the viewer, as they redefine what it means to be parents, family, and activists in this conservative, homophobic, and trans-phobic society.
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Director: Can Candan
Screenwriter: Can Candan
Stars: Ali Atay, Tansu Biçer, Cengiz Bozkurt
Genre: Documentary, Family
7 HUSBANDS OF HURMUZ / 7 KOCALI HÜRMÜZ
Saturday Nov 22 3:00 PM at SIFF Film Center
Remake of a well-known Turkish musical comedy loved by generations, the film is about the adventures of flirtatious Hurmuz in late 1800's Istanbul. Hurmuz who lives in Taskasap, Istanbul has six husbands in a plot to solve her economic problems. She arranges to meet each of her husbands one day of the week. However, suddenly, she falls in love with the town's doctor whom she meets at her husband's barber shop. The doctor falls in love with her too... But, one night all six husbands come home at the same time, and Hurmuz and Safinaz - Hurmuz's "go-between/accomplice/friend" - find themselves in a series of very awkward yet funny situations.
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Director: Ezel Akay
Screenwriter: Gürsel Korat
Stars: Nurgül Yesilçay, Gülse Birsel, Haluk Bilginer
Genre: Comedy
NOBODY'S HOME / KÖKSÜZ
Saturday Nov 22 7:15 PM at SIFF Film Center
The story of four people who cannot manage to become a family again after a loss and who destroy themselves with each passing day.
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Director: Deniz Akçay
Screenwriter: Deniz Akçay
Stars: Lale Basar, Savas Alp Başar, Mert Bostancı
Genre: Drama
LOVE ME / SEV BENÄ°
Saturday Nov 7 1:30 PM at SIFF Uptown
Sprinkled with hilarious notes of cultural clashes and an endearing display of the kindness of strangers, this idiosyncratic 'comedy drama' will warm hearts in the most unexpected way.
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Director: Maryna Gorbach, Mehmet Bahadır Er (co-director)
Screenwriter: Maryna GorbachÖ Mehmet Bahadır Er (co-writer)
Stars: Ushan Çakır, Viktoria Spesivtseva, Güven Kıraç
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
YOZGAT BLUES
Sunday Nov 23 3:00 PM at SIFF Film Center
A barber in Yozgat - a very small city in the middle Anatolia - has an emotional breakdown when he runs into Yavuz and Nese who have come to town to sing in a small music hall-bar.
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Director: Mahmut Fazıl Coskun
Screenwriter: Mahmut Fazil Coskun, Tarık Tufan
Stars: Ercan Kesal, Ayça Damgacı, Tansu Biçer
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
TURKISH PASSPORT
Sunday Nov 23 7:00 PM at University Of Washington Kane 120
The Turkish Passport tells the story of diplomats posted to Turkish Embassies and Consulates in several European countries, who saved numerous Jews during the Second World War. Based on the testimonies of witnesses, who traveled to Istanbul to find safety, the Turkish Passport also uses written historical documents and archive footage to tell this story of rescue and bring to light the events of the time.
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Director: Burak Arlıel
Screenwriter: Deniz Yesilgün, Gökhan Zincir
Stars: McKinley Anthony, Albert Barbouth, Batur Belirdi
Genre: Documentary, Drama, History
STFF SHORTS FINALISTS
Saturday Nov 22 1:00 PM at SIFF Film Center
The inaugural Seattle Turkish Film Festival Short Film Competition took place in 2014. Out of over 100 applicants, 11 shorts were selected to screen together during a dedicated festival session. Bir Maç Günlügü (A Soccer Game Journal) by Deniz Özden won first place in the competition, with Mert Gökalp’s Irme coming in second and Zen by Özer Kesemen placing third.
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STFF 2014 TEAM MEMBERS
Festival Director
Emek Eraslan
Film, Festival, and Gala Logistics
Erol Balevi, Ebru Yildirim, Feral Gokcen, Jülide Ahu Tutar
Community Engagement, Sponsorship, and Budget
John Gokcen, Alparslan Asan
Technology and Multimedia
Tonguç Yazıcı, BoÄŸaç Yenal, Melih ErdoÄŸan, Semih Erdogan
Visual Design
Kerem Ozcan, Bruce Bernese
Social Media
Banu Erdim, Melis Kurban
Short Film Competition Director
Ozgur Arman
Project Manager
Merve TopçuoÄŸlu