Sunday, April 5    3:00 p.m.
Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston

SYNOPSIS

Released from prison after 10 years for anti-government activities as a student in the 1990s, Yusuf returns to his sickly mother in a mountainous village near the Black Sea. He only sees his childhood friend Mikail. As autumn slowly gives way to winter, Yusuf and Mikail go to a tavern where Yusuf meets Eka, a beautiful Georgian prostitute. Love becomes a final desperate attempt to grasp life and elude solitude. Beyond the personal tragedy of a man who has nothing to look forward to, there lurks the bitter deception of a shattered socialist dream.

SELECTED FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

• Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, Turkey (2008): Best Film, Best Supporting Female Actor (Megi Kobaladze), Special Jury Prize
• Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland (2008): The Art and Essay Cicae Prize
• SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics’ Association) Awards, Turkey: Best Film, Best Script, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Feza Çaldıran), Best Actor (Onur Saylak)
• Eurasia Film Festival, Antalya, Turkey (2008): Netpac Jury Award
• Tiblisi Film Festival, Georgia (2008): Silver Prometheus Award
• Premiers Plans Angers European First Film Festival, France (2008): Soundtrack Award
• Festival on Wheels, Turkey (2008): Silver Goose and Critics’ Awards
• Montreal World Film Festival, Canada (2008)

Director OZCAN ALPER

Özcan Alper was born in 1975 in a small town of Artvin in Northeastern Turkey.
He studied Physics at Istanbul University. Later he transferred his degree to History
of Science at the same university. In the meantime he grew interest in cinema and
started to work in alternative cinema groups. In 1999 he started his professional career
in filmmaking and he worked in several films and TV serials as assistant director and
production staff. His first short film Momi (Grandmother) received several awards .It was
the first film ever shot in the Hemşin language (a dialect spoken in the northeastern Turkey).
Autumn is Alper's first feature film and was supported by Turkish Cultural Ministry. He also writes film critics in “Yeni Film”, a well known cinema magazine in Turkey.