Yazi Tura - Toss Up - Ugur Yucel - 5th Boston Turkish Film and Music Festival - 5. Boston Turk Film ve Muzik Festivali

Festivals and Awards:

International Istanbul Film Festival: Best Director, Best Actor (Olgun Şimsek), People’s Choice Award (2005)
Adana Film Festival: Best Director, Best Actor (Olgun Şimsek and Kenan Imirzalioglu), Best Supporting Actor (Teoman Kumbaracıbaşı) (2005)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Official Selection (2005)
Ankara International Film Festival: Best Actor (Olgun Şimsek), Best Original Music, Mahmut Tali Öngören Special Award (2005)
Nuremberg Turkish-German Film Festival: Best Film (2005)
SIYAD Film Critics Awards: Best Actor (Olgun Şimsek), Best Supporting Actor (Erkan Can), Best Original Music (2005)
Golden Orange Antalya Film Festival: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Olgun Şimsek), Best Supporting Actress (Eli Mango), Best Supporting Actor (Bahri Beyat), Best Editing, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Make-Up Design, Best Sound Mixing (2004)

Synopsis:

Yazı Tura (Toss Up) melds the stories of two tragedies through the experiences of two young men, “Rıdvan the Devil,” a soccer player from Göreme, and “Cevher the Ghost,” a young man who is living with his father in Istanbul. After serving together in the army in Eastern Anatolia in 1999, both men return to their civilian lives. Rıdvan has lost his right leg, while Cevher has lost the ability to hear in his right ear after the explosion of a mine. In his first feature film, Yücel has created a story that will haunt audiences for days after leaving the theater. Yücel’s deliberate attempt to disturb the audience and his avoidance of conventional storytelling techniques result in a fresh narrative that signals the emergence of a new auteur in Turkish cinema.

“...Nature also catches up with the protagonists of Uğur Yücel’s highly acclaimed Toss-Up (Yazı Tura, 2004), which could be considered Distant’s stylistic opposite. Shot on DV in a dislocating vérité style that borders on abstraction, the film portrays the lives of two soldiers who return from the army with sharp psychic and physical wounds. Both of their tales turn on overpowering natural forces: One finds the inability to keep his urges in check leads to ruin among the snowy wastes of his hometown, while the other experiences the massive 1999 Marmara Earthquake, forcing a redefinition of his suppressed fears and a reconnection with his family. Although, like Ceylan, Yücel also tackles emotional alienation, he gives in spectacularly: Toss-Up builds to near-operatic crescendos that might have placed the film firmly within the tradition of Turkish tearjerkers of yore, were it not so expertly directed and acted...” -- Bilge Ebiri, Cinema Scope 23

During his major on acting at the conservatory, he put his first stand-up shows on stage in 1977. Continued his acting career along with his one-man-shows. In 1983 he started acting in feature films. In 1992 he shot his first short film and used it for a special public performance, where the film was projected on a big screen in mute and he played percussion in front of the stage along with the rhythm of the film. He carried out his distinctively serene and realistic style in acting to the TV shows produced in his contribution, as a writer, director or actor. Six years ago he decided on shooting his own films. He continues with producing and acting in television projects, in order to finance his films. He is preparing theatrical and musical performances for stage, meanwhile works on his stories for films. With all the works he created, he has reached a large audience who follows his every upcoming project intensely. He dreams of shooting a feature film per year. Toss Up (Yazi Tura) is his first feature as director.

Filmography (as director):

Toss Up (Yazi Tura, 2004)
Twilight (Alacakaranlik) (TV series, 2003)
Night Runners (Karanlikta Kosanlar, TV series, 2000)
Azinlikta Kaldik (TV series, 1999)
Ikinci Bahar (TV series, 1999)